NEWS - At Least Seven Die in Myanma

[BurmaJapan@xxxxxxx]

At Least Seven Die in Myanmar Air Crash

               Reuters
               27-JAN-98

               YANGON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - At least seven people were
killed in a air crash in
               Myanmar (Burma) on Tuesday, but dozens of passengers
survived, a Transport
               Ministry source said. 

               The source said a Fokker F-27 aircraft owned by state-run
Myanma Airways
               crashed near Thandwe, about 320 kms (200 miles) northwest
of the capital Yangon.

               The plane had just taken off from Thandwe in Arakan state
carrying 40 passengers
               and four crew and was heading to the state capital Sittwe
when it crashed around
               0350 GMT, the source told Reuters. 

               He said most of the remaining people on board the
aircraft had survived the crash
               but he could not give exact details. 

               ``The cause of the crash is not known yet. We are still
waiting to hear the official
               report,'' he added. ^MORE@ Reut07:24 01-27-98 SLUG:
BC-MYANMAR-CRASH