12 killed in Myanmar military plane crash

A senior monk from Zay Kone Monastery in Pyinmana reportedly among those killed in crash

The aircraft was carrying two monks and military personnel for a ceremony to lay the foundations for a new monastery (pictured: Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur)

(REUTERS)

At least 12 people have reportedly died after a plane belonging to Myanmar‘s military crashed.

The aircraft was carrying two monks and military personnel for a ceremony to lay the foundations for a new monastery.

The crash occurred when the plane was making its landing approach to Pyin Oo Lwin’s Anisakhan airport on Thursday, reported Myawaddy TV, a state-run broadcaster.

A boy was one of two survivors on the flight that set off from the capital, Naypyitaw, in the country’s central Mandalay region.

The other person taken to a hospital was reported to be a member of the military, but this person has not been identified and their current medical status is not known.

The senior monk who died in the crash was reportedly the abbot of Zay Kone Monastery in Pyinmana, a satellite town of Naypyitaw.

He was believed to be in his nineties and hosted the head of the country’s current ruling junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, for a visit on 2 February, the day after the army ousted the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and seized power.

The plane that crashed appeared from pictured posted online to be a Beechcraft 1900, a model used by the air force.

Five people died in February 2016 when an air force Beechcraft 1900D crashed shortly after takeoff from Naypyitaw.

Additional reporting by AP