Turkish cargo plane crashes in Kyrgyzstan, 32 dead

<p>BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN // A cargo plane attempting to land at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport in thick fog crashed in a populated area Monday, authorities at the airport said, leaving at least 32 people dead.</p><p>The majority of the dead are from the nearby village of Dacha-Suu where the Turkish cargo plane crashed while flying to Istanbul from Hong Kong via Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek - at around 7.30am local time, Muhammed Svarov, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services ministry told AFP.</p><p/><iframe width="500" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jfyjx2rOQWk"/><p>ACT Airlines, a Turkish cargo airline, said in a statement that the plane involved in the crash belonged to it. Kyrgyz authorities earlier on Monday had stated that the aircraft belonged to Turkish Airlines, a claim the company denied.</p><p>The total number of dead "could be bigger" Mr Svarov said, adding that authorities had launched a huge search and rescue operation.</p><p><br/> </p><p>"Major work is underway," he said. "The damage to infrastructure in the village is significant."</p><p>At least four pilots on the flight were among the dead, the emergency services ministry said, with one pilot’s body yet to be found.</p><p>Around 43 houses were damaged by the crash, according to the emergency services ministry, which said that the accident sparked fires that spread, but have now been localised.</p><p/><p>"The plane crashed into the houses, it killed entire families," one eyewitness told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN // A cargo plane attempting to land at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport in thick fog crashed in a populated area Monday, authorities at the airport said, leaving at least 32 people dead.</p> <p>The majority of the dead are from the nearby village of Dacha-Suu where the Turkish cargo plane crashed while flying to Istanbul from Hong Kong via Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek - at around 7.30am local time, Muhammed Svarov, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services ministry told AFP.</p> <p></p> <iframe width="500" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jfyjx2rOQWk"></iframe><p>ACT Airlines, a Turkish cargo airline, said in a statement that the plane involved in the crash belonged to it. Kyrgyz authorities earlier on Monday had stated that the aircraft belonged to Turkish Airlines, a claim the company denied.</p><p>The total number of dead "could be bigger" Mr Svarov said, adding that authorities had launched a huge search and rescue operation.</p><p><br /> </p><p>"Major work is underway," he said. "The damage to infrastructure in the village is significant."</p><p>At least four pilots on the flight were among the dead, the emergency services ministry said, with one pilot’s body yet to be found.</p><p>Around 43 houses were damaged by the crash, according to the emergency services ministry, which said that the accident sparked fires that spread, but have now been localised.</p><p></p><p>"The plane crashed into the houses, it killed entire families," one eyewitness told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>