Two Myanmar jet pilots and 10-year old girl killed in plane crashes

Two Myanmar fighter pilots were killed in separate crashes due to heavy fog Tuesday, officials said, with the debris from one of the planes killing a young girl in her home.

Poor visibility caused one F-7 jet to fly into a telecommunications tower near Magway air force base more than 500 kilometres northwest of Yangon, an air force official told AFP.

“He had no time to eject,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

A 10-year-old girl, who was studying at home, was hit by a piece of the plane after it struck the tower, lawmaker Kyaw Swan Yee from nearby Min Buu town said.

“She died after arriving at hospital,” he said.

People look at the wreckage of a crashed military plane at a field in Magway on October 16, 2018. - A young girl and two pilots were killed on October 16  when two fighter jets crashed due to heavy fog in central Myanmar, officials said. (Photo by - / AFP)

In the other incident -- which ocurred just 10 miles (16 kilometres) away -- the pilot managed to eject from his plane but was killed when he hit the ground according to the official.

The pilots were named as Captain Hein Thu Aung and Captain Phyo Maung Maung, both in their thirties.

Magway's chief minister and a delegation of lawmakers paid their respects to the girl's family, Kyaw Swan Yee said.

- AFP