YANGON (REUTERS) - The Myanmar military has lost contact with a training jet and has kicked off a search for the missing plane, the military said on Tuesday (Sept 5).

The plane left the south-western town of Pathein in the morning, only to lose communication at 9.18am, the military said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board, but the statement identified one pilot by name.

Aircraft incidents, both civilian and military, are not uncommon in the south-east Asian country.