YANGON: A Myanmar passenger jet packed with foreign tourists crash-landed and burst into flames on Tuesday in a field in eastern Shan state, killing at least two people and injuring 11 others, officials said. Black smoke was seen billowing from the charred wreckage of the Air Bagan aircraft, which came down near Heho airport — the gateway to the popular tourist destination of Inle Lake.
Fifty-one foreigners were among the 63 passengers on board the flight from Yangon via Mandalay, the information ministry said. There were six crew members.
The ageing Fokker-100 jet crashed while attempting to land in heavy fog, breaking its tail and catching fire, according to the ministry.
Air Bagan said a Burmese tour guide on board the plane was killed. Earlier the information ministry said an 11-year-old had died but the airline said it was not aware of any child fatality.
A motorcyclist on the ground also perished.
Two Americans, two Britons and one Korean man were among those taken to hospital in nearby Taunggyi, according to Air Bagan, which described the incident as an "emergency landing" . Two French nationals were also slightly injured.
The information ministry said on its website that the plane appeared to have landed in a field next to the runway due to the bad weather. "Because of the emergency landing near the airport, the plane broke up in the middle," a government official said.
The two pilots were among those taken to hospital, according to Air Bagan spokesman Ye Min Oo. "The cause of the accident is not clear yet. Only the pilots will know the cause, but we can't contact them yet as they have been sent to hospital," he said.
Fifty-one foreigners were among the 63 passengers on board the flight from Yangon via Mandalay, the information ministry said. There were six crew members.
The ageing Fokker-100 jet crashed while attempting to land in heavy fog, breaking its tail and catching fire, according to the ministry.
Air Bagan said a Burmese tour guide on board the plane was killed. Earlier the information ministry said an 11-year-old had died but the airline said it was not aware of any child fatality.
A motorcyclist on the ground also perished.
Two Americans, two Britons and one Korean man were among those taken to hospital in nearby Taunggyi, according to Air Bagan, which described the incident as an "emergency landing" . Two French nationals were also slightly injured.
The information ministry said on its website that the plane appeared to have landed in a field next to the runway due to the bad weather. "Because of the emergency landing near the airport, the plane broke up in the middle," a government official said.
The two pilots were among those taken to hospital, according to Air Bagan spokesman Ye Min Oo. "The cause of the accident is not clear yet. Only the pilots will know the cause, but we can't contact them yet as they have been sent to hospital," he said.
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