Vietnam’s search and rescue forces have found both of the black boxes belonging to the missing CASA 212 patrol plane which went missing on June 16, according to media reports.

The black boxes – a voice recorder and flight data recorder, were retrieved at a depth of between 50-60 metres below sea level, near Hai Phong City’s Bach Long Vy Island.

Two more bodies, identified as crewmembers of the crashed aircraft, were also found at the area on Monday, Vietnam’s state-run news agency VNA reported.

Relevant agencies are working closely together to decode the boxes and identify the bodies.

On June 16, the CASA 212 aircraft with nine crew members on board was reported missing during a search mission for the Su-30MK2 Vietnamese fighter jet that crashed offshore the central province of Nghe An. The jet had two pilots on board, one of whom, Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, was rescued, but the other, Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai, 43, was found dead at sea.

As of June 27, the search and rescue teams have found six out of nine crew members from the missing aircraft. The Ministry of National Defence has confirmed they were all dead, Vietnamese news website VnExpress said.

– TiVi Tuan-san