LAGOS, September 3, 2008 (AFP) - The wreckage of a plane which went missing six months ago has been found together with the bodies of its three crew members, authorities in the southern Nigerian state of Cross River said Wednesday.

'The Beechcraft 1900D aircraft belonging to Wings Airline which went missing on March 15 2008 has been found,' a government statement said.

It said the ill-fated aircraft was found by hunters in thick rain forest in the state on Saturday, adding that the plane was partly burnt while the bodies of its occupants were badly decomposed.

The 19-seater aircraft went missing shortly after leaving Lagos for the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River state.