YANGON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Search for missing Myanmar military airplane is continuing with the use of nine naval vessels, five aircrafts and two helicopters of the Air Force as well as local vessels, according to an updated release of Myanmar's Defense Office on Thursday.
The aircraft of the Myanmar Air Force suddenly lost contact with the ground and went missing off the coast of southern Tanintharyi region on Wednesday afternoon on its flight from Myeik to Yangon.
Officials revised the number of those onboard to 122, including 108 military personnel and their family members and 14 crew members. Earlier reports suggested 104 passengers onboard.
With a load of 2.4 tons of cargo, the military aircraft carrying some welfare goods took off from Myeik air base at 01:06 p.m. local time for Yangon (0636 GMT), but when it reached a height of 18,000 feet (5,400 meters) at about 01:35 p.m. local time (0707 GMT), it lost contact with the ground at a location 32 km west of Dawei and went missing.
The aircraft was on a round trip transport mission along the route Yangon-Myeik-Pokkpyin-Myeik-Yangon.
