Bodies pulled from Myanmar plane wreck

Hundreds of people gathered on a beach in southern Myanmar yesterday desperately waiting for news of their loved ones as the first bodies arrived from the wreck of a military plane that crashed with more than 120 people on board.

Navy ships and air force planes have been scouring the waves since Wednesday afternoon, when the aircraft disappeared en route from the southern city of Myeik to the commercial hub of Yangon.

By mid-afternoon the commander-in-chief's office said 29 corpses -- 20 women, one man and eight children -- had been retrieved from the sea after a navy vessel discovered wreckage from the plane off the coastline near Dawei town.

Hundreds of locals, relatives and NGO workers clasping umbrellas watched as a fishing boat laden with the dead pulled up to San Hlan beach, where they were unloaded by NGO workers and uniformed soliders wearing masks and gloves.

An AFP reporter counted 29 corpses of different sizes, wrapped in black and white plastic bags, being brought onshore from the boat.

"My cousin's sister's family was in the plane crash -- her husband, her child and herself," said Kyaw Swar Myint, 44, from Dawei.

"We heard news that the helicopter was now transporting about 20 dead bodies to the beach, so we are waiting here."

A military officer said strong currents has made it hard for boats to reach the shore, so many of the bodies may have to be airlifted to land.

The Chinese-made Shaanxi Y8 plane was carrying a total of 122 people when it disappeared on Wednesday afternoon during a routine flight, according to the army chief.