BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: A passenger jet with 90 people on board crashed yesterday near the main airport in Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 65, Kyrgyz and US officials said. The plane was headed to Mashhad in Iran.
Twenty-two people survived the crash and three were missing, Prime Minister Igor Chudinov said. “According to preliminary information, 22 out of 90 people on board survived,” he told reporters. Earlier, Emergencies Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev said 25 people had survived.
The Boeing 737-200 crashed near the Bishkek airport, Maj. Damian Pickart, public affairs officer for the Manas US airbase told The Associated Press. The US airbase is at Bishkek’s airport.
An airport official said the crash occurred after the crew reported a technical problem on board about 10 minutes into the flight to Mashhad, and that the plane was returning to the airport when it crashed. The official said she was not authorized to give her name.
Kyrgyz Interior Minister Maldomusa Kongatiyev told the AP there were seven crew members on board in addition to the 83 passengers. He said the plane went down 10 km from the airport.
Most of the passengers were Iranian citizens, the government in Bishkek reported. Also on board were the Kyrgyz youth basketball team.
The airport official said the plane belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgyz company, but was operated by Iran Aseman Airlines. Itek Air has been banned from operating in the airspace of the European Union, according to a list published by the EU on July 24.
Rescue workers and police had cordoned off the area of the crash site, which was visited in the evening by Prime Minister Chudinov.
