Terrified passengers described a very loud noise soon after flight MU736 left Sydney Airport for Shanghai at 8.30pm (1030 GMT) on Sunday.

Crew cleared seats near the affected engine and turned the flight back. No one aboard the twin-engine Airbus A330 was injured.

China Eastern said the crew found damage in the casing of the air inlet in the left engine.

“The crew… decided to return to Sydney Airport immediately,” an airline spokeswoman added in an emailed statement to AFP.

“The returned aircraft is currently under investigation at Sydney Airport.”

Images posted on social media showed a large hole ripped in the casing.

An unidentified passenger told broadcaster Channel Seven: “We, like, went up in the air and all of a sudden, I heard like ‘z-z-z-z-z’ and it was really, really loud. It kind of smelled like burning.

“Oh, I was scared. Yes. I was really scared. Our group was terrified.”

Another passenger told Channel Nine that “the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise and they cleared all of the seats”.

– Panel detached? –

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AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas said investigators would be looking at whether the acoustic panelling of the engine had become detached, citing a similar incident in mid-May involving an Egypt Air A330.

He said the panel might have come back and been sucked into the engine.

Thomas said an Airbus airworthiness directive issued in 2011 and updated in 2014 noted that some operators had found acoustic panelling in the cowling area was disbonding.

“It was a problem that they knew about and airlines had been warned and had been required to inspect their engines and if necessary replace the panels,” he added.

“Whoever is looking after the maintenance of the engines, whether it is the airline or the engine maker, it’s their responsibility.”

He said the China Eastern incident was unusual and the serious damage to the engine meant it was likely to be replaced.

But despite the dramatic scenes, Thomas said the damage was not as severe as the engine failure experienced by Qantas Singapore-Sydney flight QF32 in 2010 due to a separate problem, which led the Australian carrier to ground all its A380s.

The robustness of today’s engines also meant twin-engine jets could continue taking off — when they were under the most stress — even if there was a failure of one of them, he said.

“Engines today are so reliable that in fact some twin-engine aeroplanes are certified to fly up to 330 minutes flying time away from an alternate airport,” Thomas said.

China Eastern said all passengers would be placed on flights departing Australia Monday.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is set to form a coalition government after her Conservative Party’s failure to win a majority in Parliament which will have a serious impact on Brexit.

According to the Thai Commerce Ministry, which closely monitored the UK election results, the poll setback for the ruling party meant negotiations to exit the European Union could be negatively affected. There is also a short-term impact on the value of the pound as well as increased worries in international financial markets due to uncertainties now hovering over Brexit.

UK premier May is due to visit Queen Elizabeth II shortly to seek permission to form a coalition government.

Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said preliminary election results show that the Conservative Party had won 313 seats of the 650-seat UK Parliament, a drop of 331 seats from the previous 2015 poll. This means the UK will be ruled by a coalition government whose mandate would be less clear as crucial talks in the country’s departure from the EU near.

Pimchanok said that immediately there would not be any significant impact on UK trade with Thailand since the British government would continue to follow the EU’s rules and regulations until it leaves the group. However, the UK is expected to speed up negotiations with other trading partners, including Thailand, for bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade and investment.

Brexit is expected to create new opportunities to increase trade and investment between the two countries, especially for Thai exports of sugar, chicken and rice to the UK market which are expected to increase due to the absence of quotas which are imposed on EU member countries.

On the investment side, Thailand expects to see more business partnerships with the UK in various sectors, especially information technology and aviation, as the UK is currently ranked Thailand’s 18 largest trading partner.

In the first four months of this year, bilateral trade amounted to US$2.16 billion, with key Thai export products being processed chicken, automotive parts and components, aviation parts and components, electronics and jewellery.

The UK premier’s snap election was intended to boost her mandate for the Brexit negotiations, but the move backfired despite the party’s earlier lead.

According to an analysis by Kasikorn Bank’s financial markets, the Conservative Party, which still won the most seats but was short of a majority, would have to govern with the backing of other smaller parties.

The last time the Conservative Party had to form a coalition was in 2010, when the Tories and Liberal Democrats joined forces, but that government only lasted for eight months before there was a new election.

Given the election results, Brexit negotiations are likely to be delayed as negotiations were expected to start on June 19. Overall, the new UK government will likely face many obstacles in Parliament as the UK needs a strong negotiator backed by the majority of MPs.

On the other hand, if May failed to form a coalition government and the Labour Party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn is picked as the new prime minister, financial markets would expect to see a case for a “softer” Brexit.

Based on the election results, it seems UK voters had changed their minds to “Bremain” in the EU as a significant number had turned their back on May and ended up choosing the Labour Party instead, especially in London.

Of the 136 countries around the world covered by the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which was released in April, Thailand sits at 118th with a 4.0 score for safety and security for tourists.

The index indicates a country’s exposure of tourists and businesses to security risks, considering serious harm such as violence and terrorism.

While a score of seven is considered the best for visitors, Finland is ranked No 1 with a score of 6.7, while Colombia, regarded as the most dangerous country for travellers, is the lowest with a score of 2.6.

Among Asean countries, the Philippines is the most dangerous, placed 126th with a score of 3.6, and Singapore is at the top (6th and 6.5).

The violence that flared in Thailand’s deep South in early 2004 took more than 6,800 lives.

The southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, bordering with Malaysia, are the trouble hot spots.

While historical and ethno-religious grievances are behind the bloody unrest in the predominantly Muslim region, the causes of the occasional attacks in Bangkok, notably since the 2014 military coup, are largely unknown. Authorities have no clear explanation.

The latest bombing at the military-run Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok took place on May 20, wounding more than 20 people.

Investigations on that case and previous explosions have made little progress.

Responsible military units in the capital say the junta has plenty of measures to assure safety and security for tourists.

“We have enough surveillance cameras in public places and security officials are working in many locations to closely monitor groups of people who have the potential to create trouble,” said Chalermphon Srisawat, commander of the Second Cavalry Division.

The military has also engaged with hotels where foreign guests mostly stay to take care of safety and security, he said.

Hotel operators are required to submit their guest lists to authorities, he said.

However, the WEF report says that Thailand’s overall tourism performance has barely improved, as it was 34th with a 4.4 score in 2017 from 35th with 4.3 in 2015.

Other indicators include business environment, health and hygiene, information and communication technology openness, price competitiveness, environment sustainability and tourist service infrastructure.

The country did well on tourism service infrastructure with a 5.8 score. The lowest score was found in cultural resources with only 2.8.

Thailand welcomed nearly 30 million visitors with international inbound receipts of US$44.5 billion (Bt1.5 trillion) last year. Tourism is a key engine for the country’s economic growth.

Most of the 31 dead retrieved from the Andaman Sea so far have been women and children after a fraught search by navy ships, planes and helicopters hampered by sweeping rains.

A total of 122 people were on board the Chinese-made Shaanxi Y8 military aircraft when it crashed on Wednesday during a routine flight from the southern city of Myeik to Myanmar’s commercial hub of Yangon.

Hundreds gathered in a cemetrey outside Dawei town on Friday afternoon to bid goodbye to loved ones whose bodies had been pulled from the water the previous day on San Hlan beach, a two hour drive away.

Chanting from Buddhist monks filled a hall used for the ceremonies as 10 flimsy wooden coffins were laid out.

One woman fainted and had to be carried out and many others broke down wailing as the service went on.

Mourners then moved outside and watched as black smoke from the cremated coffins poured out of nearby towers, drifting across the sky.

“My husband identified my nephew’s body. I’m so sorry,” said a tearful Khine Zar Win, who lost her youngest brother, his wife and two-year-old nephew in the plane crash.

Another mourner, Aye Aye, said five members of her friend’s family were killed in the crash.

“I couldn’t sleep when I heard about them,” she said. “We lived together like a family for 15 years in the military before my husband retired.”

“I have no words,” added one woman, whose daughter and grandson were on the plane. “We are so sad.”

More than half of the passengers on the aircraft were from military families, including 15 children, according to the army. The rest were soldiers and flight crew.

The military said on Friday it had identified 16 of the dead so far.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains and strong winds every year, but there were no reports of major storms along the plane’s flight route when it went missing.

– Storms hamper search –

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Fishing boats helped navy vessels and military aircraft as they continued to hunt for the wreckage on Friday, despite tides reaching over 2.5 metres, the military said in a statement.

But by the afternoon officials had not announced the retrieval of any more bodies.

“We are having difficulty because of the strong winds and tide,” Major Aung Win, police chief of Launglon township, told AFP.

The military said the aircraft was flying above 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) when it lost contact with air traffic control at 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) on Wednesday.

The military has described the captain as a “seasoned” pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying experience.

Gerry Soejatman, an independent aviation expert based in Jakarta, said initial information indicated something went wrong “not long after or just before reaching cruising altitude”.

Myanmar’s former junta bought several Y8s — four-engine turboprop jets used for medium range flights — during their 50 years of isolated rule, when they were squeezed by Western sanctions.

The plane’s maker, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation, has pledged to assist with investigations into the crash.

Several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the wreckage, including tyres, life jackets and some luggage, have also been salvaged.//AFP