YANGON, June 7 (Xinhua) -- An aircraft of the Myanmar air force went missing on Wednesday afternoon on its flight from southern Tanintharyi region's Myeik to Yangon, a release from the Office of the Commander-in-chief said.

The military aircraft, carrying welfare goods and passengers in its transport mission, took off from Myeik at 0106 p.m. local time for Yangon. When the aircraft reached a height of 18,000 feet (5,400 meters) at about 0135 p.m., it lost contact with the ground at a location 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Dawei and went missing.

The air force and the army are in hot search of the missing military plane with rescue operation urgently underway, the release added.