KYRGYZSTAN:
A Turkish cargo jet has crashed near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport, killing at least 37 people, most of them residents of a village struck by the Boeing 747 as it tried to land in dense fog.
According to the airport 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
The plane ploughed for a few hundred metres through the village of Dacha-Suu, damaging some 15 buildings, said Mukhammed Svarov, head of crisis management centre at the emergencies ministry. At least 37 people had been killed, the ministry said.
Smoke was still thick in the area at 0600GMT and small fires burned in different parts of the village, but emergency services had nearly extinguished them.
The plane was identified by Flightradar24 as a 14-year-old 747-400F operated by MyCargo airlines, also known as ACT Airlines.
Kyrgyzstan’s transport ministry said there were five people on board. It identified the plane as a Turkish Airlines Boeing 747-400, but the company said it belonged to another Turkish firm, ACT Airlines.
