Turkish cargo jet crash kills at least 30 in Kyrgyzstan

A Turkish Airlines cargo plane crashed into a village near Kyrgyzstan’s main airport Monday, killing at least 30 people and destroying homes after attempting to land in thick fog

Plane debris is seen at the crash site of a Turkish cargo jet near Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport outside Bishkek
Plane debris is seen at the crash site of a Turkish cargo jet near Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport outside Bishkek

A Turkish cargo jet crashed near Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport on Monday, killing at least 30 people, as it tried to land in dense fog, Kyrgyz officials said.

The majority of the dead were from the village of Dacha-Suu where the cargo plane crashed.

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 at 7:31am local time (2:31 CET).

The plane damaged 15 buildings in the village, Mukhammed Svarov, head of crisis management centre at the emergencies ministry, said, adding that at least 30 people had been killed. He also said that the total number of dead "could be bigger" and that authorities had launched a huge search and rescue operation.

"Major work is underway," Svarov said. "The damage to infrastructure in the village is significant."

Manas airport has been closed and flights cancelled until evening at the earliest, airport authorities said.

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.

"Our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the tragic incident involving an ACT Airlines aircraft in Kyrgyzstan," Turkish Airlines said on its Twitter account.