A piece of fuselage with numbers 8983 found (Source: VNA)Hai Phong (VNA) – Two more bodies, likely to be CASA 212 crewmembers, were found at the scene where the rescue aircraft crashed near Bach Long Vi island of northern Hai Phong city on the morning of June 24.
Earlier, at 4pm of June 23, rescue forces determined the position of the aircraft, coded 8983, at a depth of between 50-60 metres under the sea, 15 nautical miles south-southeast of the island.
They also found several bodies identified as crewmembers of the crashed aircraft, together with some pieces of debris, including propeller and fuselage with numbers 8983.
On June 16, the CASA 212 with nine crewmembers on board was dispatched after rescue units received a help signal believed to be from Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai who was the missing pilot aboard fighter jet SU30-MK2 that went down during a training session two days earlier.
After passing Bach Long Vy island district in the Tonkin Gulf by 44 nautical miles, the plane asked for permission to descend but contact was then lost.
On June 23, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, who is Chairman of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, asked search and rescue forces to exert extra efforts to search for other crewmembers and the remaining pieces of the CASA 212.
He urged for an early definition of reasons for the aircraft crash in order to put in place measures to avoid similar incidents.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich requested that absolute safety for search and rescue forces is ensured.-VNA
