Plane Passenger Shot in mid-air after Aircraft was fired at from the ground

 A PLANE passenger was shot in mid-air in Myanmar after a bullet fired by a gunman on the ground pierced through the fuselage.

The Myanmar National Airlines plane, carrying 63 passengers, was hit as it was about to touch down in Loikaw – the capital of the eastern state of Kayah – on Friday.

The bullet ripped through the plane and struck a passenger.

The passenger was rushed to hospital after he was shot.

Shocking images showed the bullet hole in the aircraft and a male passenger sat in his seat surrounded by blood-soaked tissues.

He can be seen slumped in his chair as he held a tissue to the right side of his neck and cheek to try and stop the bleeding before he was rushed to hospital once the plane landed.

The bullet reportedly pierced through the plane’s lower fuselage as it was flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet about four miles north of the airport.

Myanmar National Airlines office in Loikaw said all flights to the city were cancelled indefinitely.

Myanmar’s military government accused rebel forces of firing at the plane – although rebel groups denied the allegations.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling military council, told state TV: “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 state of Kayah state has seen intense fighting between military and rebel groups after the army overthrew a democratically elected government last year and seized power.