Bodies and aircraft parts have been found in the search for a missing military plane carrying 120 people in Myanmar.

A military spokesman said the wreckage was discovered in the Andaman Sea after the aircraft lost contact about a half-hour after takeoff from the southeastern city of Myeik on Wednesday afternoon.

The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop was carrying military personnel and family members, including children as well as 14 crew members as it headed to Yangon.

The military spokesman said a navy ship found a tire that was part of an aircraft wheel, two life jackets and the bodies of a man, a woman and a child.

Nine naval ships, five army aircraft and two helicopters are involved in the search.

In the military statement posted on Facebook it said Myanmar received the Y-8 plane in March last year, and since then it had logged 809 flying hours.