BISHKEK (Reuters) – A Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS: Quote) cargo jet crashed near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport on Monday, killing at least 20 people, most of them residents of village struck by the Boeing 747 as it tried to land in dense fog, Kyrgyz officials said.
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 7:31 local time (0131 GMT).
The doomed plane damaged 15 buildings in the village, said Mukhammed Svarov, head of crisis management centre at the emergencies ministry, putting the toll at least 20 people.
Rescue workers have recovered the body of a pilot and 15 villagers, the healthcare ministry said.
(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
