A passenger on the plane was shot in the air after a bullet fired from the ground pierced the fuselage

Shocking pic shows a man on a Myanmar National Airlines plane holding a handkerchief to his face and surrounded by blood-soaked issues after being hit by the bullet

The passenger holds a handkerchief to his face after he was shot in mid-air while traveling on a Myanmar National Airlines plane (

Image: INSTAGRAM/CABIN_CREW_CLUB)

A passenger on a plane was hit in the air by a bullet fired from the ground, piercing the fuselage right through.

The man was traveling on a Myanmar National Airlines plane, which was about to land in Loikaw, Myanmar, when it was hit yesterday.

A photo shows the victim in his seat, slumped and holding a handkerchief to the right side of his neck and cheek, while blood soaked handkerchiefs lie next to him. He was rushed to hospital upon landing.

Another image shows the hole in the fuselage made by the bullet, which hit the plane as it flew at an altitude of 3,500 feet about four miles north of the airport, reports

>

All flights to the city, which is the capital of Kayah state, have been canceled indefinitely, Myanmar National Airlines office told Loikaw.

The hole caused by the bullet that pierced the plane's fuselage (

Picture:

INSTAGRAM/CABIN_CREW_CLUB)

The country's military government has blamed rebel forces, although rebel groups deny having anything to do with the shooting.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for Myanmar's ruling military council, told state television: "I would like to say that this type of attack on the airliner is a war crime.

"People and organizations who want peace must condemn this problem from all sides."

There has been intense fighting between the military and rebel groups in eastern Kayah state since the army overthrew the country's democratically elected government last February and took control.

>

The coup led to peaceful protests - which the new government ruthlessly suppressed. This in turn prompted thousands of civilians to form militia units as part of a People's Defense Force to fight back.

The military government claimed that the Karenni National Progressive Party - a militia fighting the government - and its allies in the People's Defense Forces were responsible for the shooting.