A Turkish Airlines cargo plane attempting to land at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport in thick fog crashed in a populated area this morning, authorities at the airport said, leaving at least 37 people killed, including six children.
According to the airport’s administration, the plane was supposed to make a stopover at Manas, near the capital city Bishkek, on its way from Hong Kong to Istanbul.
It crashed when trying to land in poor visibility at 3:31am (Cyprus Time).
The doomed plane damaged 15 buildings in the village, said Mukhammed Svarov, crisis management centre chief at the Kyrgyzstan Emergencies Ministry, putting the death toll to at least 20 people from the village.
Rescue workers have recovered the pilot’s body and 15 villagers, according to Kyrgyzstan’s Healthcare Ministry.
Earlier, Turkey’s Dogan News Agency said that four people had died onboard the plane, including the two pilots and two workers.
The plane, a Boeing 747 belonging to ACT Airlines, was on its way from Istanbul to Bishkek, according to Russia’s TASS News Agency.
The cause behind the plane’s crash is not yet known. However, AFP cited a Kyrgyzstan official as saying ‘pilot error’ caused the crash.
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