YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - The Latest on the missing Myanmar military plane (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
Military officials say the missing transport plane feared lost in the Andaman Sea had 15 children among the passengers on board.
The plane carrying 120 people disappeared a half-hour after leaving a coastal city heading for Yangon on Wednesday afternoon, and a navy ship participating in the search Thursday morning found life jackets, three bodies and a tire from a plane wheel.
The Facebook page of the military commander in chief says the plane carried 14 crew members, 35 military personnel and 58 other adults. The 15 children are six boys and nine girls.
It is not unusual for such flights to carry civilians to offset transportation costs for military families stationed in the somewhat remote south.
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9:20 a.m.
A military spokesman says bodies and aircraft parts have been found during the search for a transport plane that disappeared Wednesday afternoon.
Gen. Myat Min Oo says the wreckage was found in the sea west of the town of Laung Lone.
The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft lost contact about a half-hour after takeoff from the southeastern city of Myeik, also known as Mergui, headed for Yangon, on a route that would have taken it over the Andaman Sea.
The military spokesman said a navy ship found a tire that was part of an aircraft wheel, two life jackets and the bodies of a man, a woman and a child.
Nine naval ships, five army aircraft and two helicopters were involved in the search.
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8 a.m. Thursday
Myanmar’s military has added more aircraft and ships to continue searching for a plane carrying 120 people that went missing Wednesday afternoon.
The search was continuing Thursday morning with nine naval ships, five army aircraft and two helicopters.
The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft was flying from southern Myanmar to the country’s biggest city, Yangon, when it disappeared. There were fears it crashed into the Andaman Sea.
The ship carried 14 crew members and 106 passengers, mostly families of military personnel.
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11:30 p.m.
Myanmar’s military says a transport plane with 120 people on board has disappeared while flying from southern Myanmar to Yangon. There were fears it may have crashed in the Andaman Sea.
Gen. Myat Min Oo said the Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft was carrying 106 passengers - mostly families of military personnel - and 14 crew members when it went missing Wednesday afternoon. It is not unusual for such flights to carry civilians to offset transportation costs for military families stationed in the somewhat remote south.
The commander’s office said six navy ships and three military aircraft were searching for the plane.
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