Funerals held for PLA pilots and crew killed in South China Sea crash

Warplane is believed to have crashed on March 1, but it has not been confirmed by the Chinese military

At least seven funeral services have been held in recent days, according to official reports

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A funeral service was held for pilots Qiu Mingdian, 36, and Zhang Di, 35, at the Tengzhou Martyrs’ Cemetery in Shandong on Monday. Photo: Weibo

Published: 9:00am, 25 Mar 2022

Funerals have been held for at least seven People’s Liberation Army pilots and crew who died when a warplane crashed in the South China Sea early this month, according to official reports.

The Chinese military has not confirmed the crash, which is believed to have happened southwest of Sanya in Hainan province on March 1.

Taiwan’s intelligence bureau chief on March 10 confirmed a Vietnamese journalist’s report that the plane had crashed off the coast of Vietnam. National Security Bureau director general Chen Ming-tong told Taiwan’s legislature that the crashed plane was a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and that PLA military drills announced in the area soon after the accident were actually a search-and-rescue operation.

Funerals were held on Monday in the eastern province of Shandong and in Anhui, in the southeast.

In Shandong, pilots Qiu Mingdian, 36, and Zhang Di, 35, were laid to rest in their hometown at the Tengzhou Martyrs’ Cemetery, according to a post on the Tengzhou government’s WeChat account.

A funeral was held for PLA pilot Qiu Mingdian in his hometown of Tengzhou, in Shandong on Monday. Photo: Handout

A funeral service was also held for another pilot, Wang Zhonghui, 24, in Jinxiang county, according to a video released by official media.

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