UPDATE 2 - Bodies found after Myanmar military plane crash

ADDS UPDATED TOLL, FRESH STATEMENTS BY MILITARY, ARMY CHIEF, BACKGROUND

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - A ship searching for a missing military plane has found 31 dead bodies off Myanmar's southern coast, officials said Thursday.

A military transport plane carrying 122 soldiers, their families, including 15 children, and crew went missing on Wednesday evening after losing contact during a flight from the southern town of Myeik in Tanintharyi region to Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.

Navy ships and local fishing boats taking part in the search and rescue operations have pulled 21 more bodies from the sea near a coastal town of Launglon, said the Office of Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, bringing the death toll to 31.

21 women and 8 children were among the bodies founded in the Andaman Sea, about 550 kilometers (342 miles) south of the country’s biggest city Yangon, said the military’s latest statement issued at around 8:45 p.m local time (1415GMT).

It said the team will continue the search for survivors on Friday.

The Chinese-made Y8-200F cargo plane had been in service since March 2016, with 809 flying hours on its clock, according to the website of the army-run Myawaddy newspaper.

The military, in cooperation with the officials from the Chinese aircraft manufacturer, has begun investigation into the accident, army chief said Thursday.

According to a local media report, Myanmar has had 17 aircraft accidents since 1998, most of them involving the small passenger aircraft.

Eight military personels were killed in two separate accidents of military training aircraft last year.

Two people also died during an accident involving a small passenger plane operated by a local company called Air Bagan in 2012.