Search teams find one engine of crashed CASA-212

News of the possible breakthrough came as Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung instructed search areas be widened to locate the whereabouts of the plane and nine missing crewmembers.

“Nearly 40 ships with aircraft support are scouring the seas for debris or bodies from the plane,” said Deputy Chief of the General Staff Vice Admiral and Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh.

“We have yet to locate or pick up a ping from the aircraft’s black box.”

The plane is believed to have plunged into the water last week while on a search and rescue mission for an earlier military SU-30 jet that went down killing one pilot.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam People’s Army reports that a body was discovered on the morning of June 23 near the Hai Phong crash site. They are waiting on forensic toxicology reports to determine if it is one of the missing crewmembers.