Airliner makes emergency landing on Myanmar road

YANGON, Myanmar — An Air Bagan flight made an emergency landing Tuesday on a road in central Myanmar, killing two people and injuring 11, officials said.

Four foreigners traveling on the Christmas morning flight were among the injured, Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut said on his Facebook page. He said the fatalities included an 11-year-old child believed to be a Myanmar citizen and a man riding a motorcycle on the road where the plane landed.

The flight was carrying 65 passengers and six crew members from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to Heho airport in Shan State, which is the gateway to a popular tourist destination, Inle Lake, Air Bagan said in a statement.

Airport officials in Heho said that injured passengers were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Taunggyi for treatment.

Air Bagan said the emergency landing was made on a road about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Heho airport. It did not explain why the plane, a Fokker-100, made the emergency landing.

Air Bagan is one of five private airlines that flies domestic routes in Myanmar. It is a unit of Htoo Trading Company, which is owned by business tycoon Tay Za.

 Originally posted at 01:36 pm | Tuesday, December 25, 2012