YANGON - Bodies and debris were found in the water on Thursday after a Myanmar military plane vanished over the Andaman Sea with 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board, the military said in a statement on its official Facebook page.

Three bodies, including two adults and a child, were found by a navy ship 35 km (22 miles) from the southern costal town of Launglon, the military said.

A plane wheel that was believed to be from the Chinese-made Y-8-200F transport plane was also found, the statement said.

The Chinese-made Y-8-200F transport plane left the coastal town of Myeik at 1:06 p.m (0636 GMT), heading north to Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, officials said. It was on a weekly military flight that was scheduled to stop at several coastal towns along the way.

The plane lost contact 29 minutes after takeoff while flying at 18,000 feet (5,485 metres) over the sea, about 43 miles (70 km) west of the town of Dawei, the military said.