Myanmar says aircraft crashed in its territory  

By Aung Hla Tun 
   YANGON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A Myanmar Airways Fokker F-27 
turboprop reported missing five days ago with 39 passengers 
aboard crashed in Myanmar, not in Laos as earlier stated, 
officials of the Myanmar and Laotian governments said on 
Friday.
   It was a new twist in the mystery surrounding the fate 
of flight UB635, which went missing in the "Golden 
Triangle" opium-growing region on Monday.
   Earlier this week, an official of the airline said the 
plane had landed safely in Laos. On Thursday, a Myanmar 
government spokesman said Laos had told them the aircraft 
had crashed there.
   "We now know the crash was on our side in the Tachilek 
area," an official of the Myanmar Transport Ministry said. 
"This region is very mountainous and densely forested. The 
fate of those aboard is not known yet."
   He said an air and ground search was still being carried 
out by air force and army personnel.
   On Thursday, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted officials 
of the Myanmar and Laotian embassies in Bangkok as saying 
the remains of 36 of the 39 people aboard the plane had 
been found.
   Diplomats at the embassies said on Friday they were 
unable to confirm the report. Officials in Yangon have said 
all those aboard were Myanmar citizens.
   The Fokker had been on a regular two-hour domestic 
flight from Yangon to Tachilek, the main Myanmar town in 
the Golden Triangle, which is formed where the borders of 
Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge.
   Yangon's Ministry of Information has said the Fokker had 
been unable to land at Tachilek due to poor weather and had 
flown on to Heho in southeast Myanmar but then lost contact 
with ground control.
   The airline has not provided a manifest but an official 
of Myanmar Airways International in Bangkok said earlier 
this week that most of those aboard were Myanmar military 
personnel.
   "This morning the Myanmar authorities told us the plane 
is in Myanmar," said an official of the Laotian Foreign 
Ministry in Vientiane. "It is not in Laos. We have checked 
all the places mentioned but found nothing."
   A Myanmar diplomat in Vientiane said he thought the 
confusion was due to wrong information from villagers 
living in the area.
   It was the second crash of a Myanmar Airways F-27 this 
year. In January, 14 people, including three foreigners, 
were killed when a Myanmar Airways plane carrying about 45 
people on a domestic flight crashed near Thandwe, about 320 
km (200 miles) northwest of Yangon.
   

FOCUS-Myanmar says 36 bodies found at crash scene  

(Updates with confirmation of 36 deaths) 

By Aung Hla Tun 
   YANGON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Searchers found the bodies of 
all 36 people that were on board a Myanmar Airways Fokker 
F-27 turboprop that crashed five days ago in eastern 
Myanmar, a government spokesman said on Friday.
   "A search party arrived at the crash site at 2 a.m. 
(1930 GMT Thursday) this morning and found the debris of 
the aircraft," he said. "They found all 36 bodies of those 
on board."
   The dead included four crew members and three babies, he 
said. A government official said earlier there were 39 
people on board the plane including passengers and crew.
   The spokesman said the plane crashed about six km (four 
miles) northeast of the Shan State town of Tachilek, not in 
neighbouring Laos as was stated on Thursday.
   A Transport Ministry official said the plane came down 
in a mountainous and forested area.
   The Fokker had been on a regular two-hour domestic 
flight from Yangon to Tachilek, the main Myanmar town in 
the "Golden Triangle" opium-growing region, which is formed 
where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge.
   The Ministry of Information has said the Fokker had been 
unable to land at Tachilek, which is about 550 km (340 
miles) northeast of Yangon, due to poor weather. It had 
flown on to Heho in the southeast but then lost contact 
with ground control.
   Officials have given conflicting reports. Earlier this 
week, a Myanmar Airways official said the plane had landed 
safely in Laos. On Thursday, a Myanmar government spokesman 
said Laos had told Yangon the aircraft had crashed there.
   A Myanmar diplomat in Vientiane said he thought the 
confusion was due to wrong information from villagers 
living in the area.
   The airline has not provided a manifest but an official 
of Myanmar Airways International in Bangkok said earlier 
this week that most of those aboard were Myanmar military 
personnel.
   It was the second crash of a Myanmar Airways F-27 this 
year.
   In January, 14 people, including three foreigners, were 
killed when a Myanmar Airways plane carrying about 45 
people on a domestic flight crashed near Thandwe, about 320 
km (200 miles) northwest of Yangon.