The Myanmar Army on Monday said it had retrieved the bodies of more than half of the 122 people who were reported missing after a military plane crashed into the Andaman Sea on June 7, Reuters reported. The official statement said that by Monday 83 bodies had been recovered during the search operation, which has involved navy ships and air force planes.
The passengers on board the Chinese-made Y-8-200F aircraft to Yangon had included soldiers, their family members and crew. In a statement on Facebook, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said the cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Top officials said they expected to find the debris from the plane crash soon. “A large cloud formed in the area where the accident occurred”, he said. “This should be taken into consideration.”
The administration had declined offers from several governments including China, state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
The plane was flying between the southern city of Myeik and Yangon at more than 18,000 feet when it went missing. Myanmar has had several plane crashes in the last few years, reported BBC. In February 2016, the crew of an air force plane died when the aircraft crashed in Nay Pyi Taw, the country’s capital. In June, three officers were killed when a military helicopter crashed in central Myanmar. An Air Bagan commercial aircraft made an emergency landing in 2012 and burst into flames, killing two people.
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