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Russian aviation committee, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey to jointly probe into Bishkek air crash

A Turkish cargo plane crashed on a village near Manas airport while trying to land in Bishkek

BISHKEK, January 16. /TASS/. Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), Kyrgyz officials and, probably, investigators appointed by the Turkish aviation authorities will carry out a joint probe into the crash of a cargo Boeing-747 liner near Bishkek’s Manas airport, Kyrgyzstan’s civil aviation agency said on Monday.

The emergency will be investigated in compliance with the rules effective in the international air transport industry.

"On the basis of the existing rules notifications of the air incident will be dispatched to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Inter-State Aviation Committee, to which the Kyrgyz authorities have delegated the powers to investigate air incidents, and also the aviation authorities of the country where the aircraft was registered (Turkey), as well as the aircraft’s designer and manufacturer (the Boeing company)," the statement runs.

The civil aviation agency said the plane that crashed in Kyrgyzstan on Monday was on the way from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek. The liner belonged to ACT Airlines, a cargo operator based in Turkey and registered in Turkey. The Kyrgyz authorities said the Turkish Airlines had chartered the plane on "wet lease" terms.

"Both planes and crew were provided by ACT Airlines," the document runs.

The plane crashed on a village near Manas airport while trying to land at Bishkek. According to the information available from the government of Kyrgyzstan at this point, the bodies of 31 victims, including four crew, have been found on the site of the crash. Also, fragments of another nine bodies were identified. Fifteen local residents have been taken to hospitals in Bishkek.