YANGON, March 6 — A military helicopter carrying foreign diplomats crashed in eastern Myanmar this afternoon, injuring two pilots, a military spokesman said.

Several military attaches were on board the helicopter bound for the commercial capital of Yangon when it crashed shortly after taking off from Lwe Khan village in northern Shan state, spokesman Zaw Min Tun told Reuters, declining to elaborate.

They had attended a press briefing in the area, where authorities recently seized US$37 million (RM154 million) worth of narcotics, chemicals and equipment, he said.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone other than the pilots was injured.

Aircraft accidents involving either civilian or military planes are not uncommon in the South-east Asian country.

Myanmar is the world’s biggest producer of methamphetamine, and authorities are often keen to show large-scale seizures to the media. — Reuters