Hunt for Missing Myanmar Plane Enters Third Day; Total of 31 Bodies Recovered

The tally of retrieved bodies rose to 31 on Friday as Myanmar's hunt for a military transport plane that went missing over the Andaman Sea with 122 people on board stretched into a third day.


Eight navy ships and sonar systems had joined the search for victims of Wednesday's incident, along with 20 civilian boats in stormy weather off the southern coast, the military said.

"We have not received any information about survivors," said Phyu Phyu Win, a regional social welfare and relief official. "Hopefully someone would survive."

Scores of soldiers gathered on standby to assist if more bodies were carried ashore in the fishing village of Sanlan, about 600 km (372 miles) from Myanmar's largest city Yangon, Reuters reported.

Twenty-three adults and eight children made up the tally of bodies pulled from the Andaman Sea near the coastal town of Launglon since rescue efforts began on Wednesday, the military said on its official page on social media site Facebook.

Soldiers, family members and crew were on board when the weekly flight, from several coastal towns to Yangon, went missing.
  (Tasnim)
 9/6/17