Airliner Crash-Lands on Road in Myanmar; 3 Dead, 11 Injured
An airliner crashed Tuesday on a road in Myanmar that left three dead and 11 injured.
The Air Bagan flight was carrying Christmas tourists on a flight from Mandalay to Heho airport in Shan State.
Officials for the airliner said the plane was forced to attempt an "emergency landing," but Myanmar authorities say the pilot mistook the road as the runway due to inclement weather.
The flight consisted of 63 passengers, including 51 foreigners, and six crew members, according to The Associated Press.
Four of the injured people were foreigners with two Americans, a British national and a Korean tourist.
All of the reported fatalities were Myanmar citizens; a tour guide and an 11-year-old child onboard the plane as well as a man riding a motorcycle on the road who was crushed by the landing airliner.
"While descending, the plane mistakenly landed ... due to fog beside the runway," state television reported.
The plane made a hard landing on a road and finally stopped near a rice paddy field.
State television added a comment by Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut's who stated, "The rear end of the plane broke and caught fire."
Witnesses said smoke filled the plane when it hit the ground and was still rising from the plane's badly charred wreckage hours later. It took around 45 minutes for rescue crew to bring the rear fire under control.
All of the injured passengers were taken to a nearby hospital in the city of Taunggyi.
An investigation began to find the true cause of the incident.
"Air Bagan in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport is investigating into the cause of the accident. We will take full responsibility for all passengers and will release further information as we receive it," Air Bagan added in a statement reported by The Christian Post.
Many of the passengers onboard were headed to Shan State which is a gateway to the popular tourist destination, Inle Lake.