Twelve people were killed when a Myanmar military plane crashed in a central region of the country on Thursday, a spokesman for the junta said.
The plane was carrying six crew and eight passengers and it crashed near the city of Pyin Oo Lwin, the spokesperson said in a statement.
“It lost communications when it was 400 meters (1,300 feet) away from a steel factory near the airport,” Zaw Min Tun said in a statement.
A senior monk was among those on board, the statement mentioned, adding a team had been able to rescue a boy and a sergeant, who has been sent to a nearby military hospital. Emergency workers were still on the scene, it further said.
Pyin Oo Lwin is home to the Defence Services Academy, where the military’s top leaders are trained. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi from power in February 1 coup, is a graduate from here.
Plane crashes are quite common in Myanmar due to its underdeveloped aviation sector, and Myanmar’s monsoon season has caused problems for commercial and military flights in the past.
