Airline passenger shot after bullet fired from ground pierces plane's body MID-FLIGHT!
LOIKAW, MYANMAR: A plane passenger was severely injured mid-air after getting shot by a bullet fired by a gunman on the ground. The victim's name has not been released but it has been said that he was a male among 63 passengers on the Myanmar National Airlines plane when the bullet went through the fuselage and wounded him.
As per reports, the tragedy struck just before the flight was about to land in Loikaw, which is Kayah’s state capital, on Friday, September 30. At the time of the attack, the aircraft was at an altitude of 3,500ft. The pictures of the incident were shared on an Instagram account, cabin_crew_club, which showed a bullet hole in the airplane.
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The photos also showed the victim sitting in his seat, clutching a piece a tissue to his wound to try and staunch the bleeding. Soon after the flight touched down, he was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's military government has held rebel forces responsible for the attack. Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar's ruling military council, said, “I want to say that this kind of attack on the passenger plane is a war crime. People and organizations who want peace need to condemn this issue all round.”
The government also named the Karenni National Progressive Party and its allies for the violence. However, Khu Daniel, a leader of the Karenni National Progressive Party, denied the accusations and said, “The military always blames other organisations for the shootings. Our armed wing didn't shoot the plane this morning.”
Another rebel force named the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force slammed the government and called the allegations “defamatory propaganda against the revolutionary forces by the Military Council”. The group also added, “The runway and the area of the airfield are surrounded by infantry battalions and high security areas. So to say that PDFs attacked the plane is only an accusation.”
The incident has attracted a lot of attention online with a person commenting on Instagram, “I thought no one can't go through with a gun passing the security guard safety?” Another user said, “This is crazzzzzzzyyyyyyyy wtf !!!!!” The third one noted, “That is so awful! What a reckless thing to do - shoot at an aircraft.” The fourth one noted, “How awful. Glad it wasn’t worse.”
This incident is similar to another reported in August in Corona, California. A flight reportedly crashed close to the eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway in Riverside County near Lincoln Avenue. Soon after the accident, the aircraft was ablaze and also harmed a truck carrying three civilians. However, no fatalities were reported.
Capt Levi Miller of the California Highway Patrol said, “The pilot claims to have experienced possible engine failure on their final descent to Corona Municipal Airport. (We’re) very fortunate today that the traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigation that avoided what could have been a very bad tragedy.”
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.