A Myanmar military fighter jet accidentally dropped two bombs onto a sesame field during a drill in Meiktila, Mandalay Region, yesterday afternoon. No injuries were reported, according to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services.
The announcement said the accident was caused by a technical fault in the aircraft’s weapons system. The bombs fell before the fighter jet – a Chinese-made Chengdu F-7 – reached its target. The army is investigating the accident.
“One bomb exploded as soon as it touched the ground. We heard the explosion and saw the smoke. The ground shook a lot. The other bomb sank into the ground, and a mine squad from the air force exploded it this afternoon. If the bombs had hit any homes, people might be dead,” the owner of the field, Win Maung, told Eleven.
“The army gave me K100,000 as a compensation,” he added.
The Chengdu F-7 is used by countries around the world as an interceptor aircraft, to prevent successful missions by enemy aircraft. Myanmar has 64 F-7s, though they have reportedly been out of service and stored as reserve aircraft since the military acquired new, superior fighter aircraft.
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