HÀ NỘI — Rescue forces found two bodies identified as crewmembers of the crashed rescue aircraft CASA 212, as of 4pm yesterday.

They 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 Bạch Long Vỹ island of northern Hải Phòng City.
Several pieces of debris, including propeller and fuselage with numbers 8983, were found around the scene.
On June 16, CASA 212 was dispatched with nine crewmembers on board, after rescue units received a help signal believed to be from Senior Lieutenant Colonel Trần Quang Khải, the missing pilot aboard fighter jet SU30-MK2 which crashed during a training session two days earlier.
After passing Bạch Long Vỹ island district in the Tonkin Gulf by 44 nautical miles, the plane asked for permission to descend but contact was then lost.
Search forces looking for the SU30-MK2 yesterday afternoon also discovered aircraft debris at latitudes between 18 degrees 57 minutes to 19 degrees North and longitudes from 106 degrees 3 minutes to 106 degrees 4 minutes East on the waters of central Nghệ An Province. The position was determined to be the place where the aircraft crashed.
Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng, Chairman of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, asked search and rescue forces to search for crewmembers and the remaining pieces of CASA 212. He asked for an early assessment of reasons for the crash, in order to put measures in place to avoid similar incidents.
Defence Minister Ngô Xuân Lịch requested that safety for search and rescue forces be ensured, especially in bad weather.
The SU30-MK2 aircraft and its two pilots went missing at 6:50 am of June 14 near Hòn Mát Island, about 40km off the coast of the central province of Nghệ An’s Vinh City. One pilot was rescued by fishing boats and brought ashore safely. Khải’s body was found on June 17 and brought ashore on June 18.— VNS