Bullet shot from ground pierces through Myanmar plane mid-air, hit passenger

A passenger onboard a Myanmar National Airlines flight was injured after a bullet shot from the ground pierced through the aircraft’s fuselage mid-air and hit him. The incident occurred when the plane was preparing to land. The passenger was rushed to a hospital after the plane landed in Myanmar’s Loikaw.

According to British news agency The Sun, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet and around four miles north of the airport. Following the incident, the Myanmar National Airlines’ office in Loikaw announced that all flights to the city have been cancelled indefinitely.

At that time, there were 63 people on the plane. During the journey, the passenger was hit by a bullet fired from the ground while sitting in the plane.

Myanmar’s military government has accused rebel forces in the State of Kayah of firing at the aircraft. However, rebel groups denied the allegation.

Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling military council, told MRTV, the state television, that the shooting was carried out by “terrorists” belonging to the Karenni National Progressive Party, an ethnic minority militia battling the government. He added that the group worked along with their allies in the People’s Defense Force, an armed pro-democracy.

Kayah has experienced intense fighting between the military and local resistance groups since the army seized power in 2021, overthrowing the democratically-elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. – Bulletin Monitoring Desk