Military plane crashes in Myanmar, killing 12

According to media reports, the plane was carrying six military personnel and also Buddhist monks

June 10, 2021 11:22 am | Updated 11:22 am IST

Myanmar has long had a poor air safety record. In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, a military officer gestures by the wreckage of a Myanmar military aircraft that crashed in an area close to the airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo used for representational purpose only.

Myanmar has long had a poor air safety record. In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, a military officer gestures by the wreckage of a Myanmar military aircraft that crashed in an area close to the airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo used for representational purpose only.

A military plane crashed on Thursday, June 10, 2021, near Myanmar's second-biggest city of Mandalay, killing 12 people, the city's fire service said in a post on social media.

The plane was flying from the capital Naypyidaw to the town of Pyin Oo Lwin and was coming in to land when it crashed about 984 ft from a steel plant, the military-owned Myawaddy television station reported.

The plane was carrying six military personnel and also monks who were due to attend a ceremony at a Buddhist monastery, other media reports said.

There were no reports of casualties among people on theground.

The pilot and one passenger survived and were taken to a military hospital, according to a resident and posting by a community group.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the crash. Myanmar has long had a poor air safety record.

Photographs on social media showed a badly damaged fuselage lying its side.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with daily protests in towns and cities and fighting in borderlands between the military and ethnic minority militias.

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