11 June 2017•Update: 12 June 2017
By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar
Rescue workers recovered more bodies on Monday as improved weather aided the search for a military plane that crashed off the southern coast of Myanmar last week, organizers said.
In a statement, the military said clearer weather in the Andaman Sea had prompted the deployment of more naval ships, military aircraft and fishing trawlers to hunt for the transport plane and the remains of the 122 passengers and crew.
According to a statement from Office of Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar military, 24 more bodies have been recovered from the sea on Monday, bringing the number of total fatalities in military plane crash to 83. 28 women and 12 children were among those found, it said.
The Chinese-made Y8-200F four-propeller plane crashed at sea last Wednesday evening as it headed to Yangon from the coastal town of Myeik in southern Tanintharyi.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads Myanmar’s armed forces, said the weather was likely to have been the main factor in the accident, local media reported.
“The crashed plane [is] expected to be found soon as the plane crash site is in the country’s territory,” he said.
