Turkish cargo plane crashes on houses in Kyrgyzstan, kills over 37 people

The tail of a crashed Turkish Boeing 747 cargo plane lies at a residential area outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. The cargo plane crashed Monday morning, killing people in the residential area adjacent to the Manas airport as well as those on the plane. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)

BBC – A Turkish cargo plane flying from Hong Kong has crashed in Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 37 people, most of them on the ground, officials say.

The Boeing 747 TC-MCL aircraft operated by ACT Airlines crashed as it landed in fog at Manas airport, 25km (15 miles) north of the capital, Bishkek.

At least 15 buildings were destroyed in a village outside the airport, with a number of children among the dead.

Flight TK6491 was to have stopped at Manas en route to Istanbul in Turkey.

ACT is an Istanbul-based airline operating under the name MyCargo. The plane is believed to have been around 14 years old.
Deputy PM Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev said on state TV: “According to preliminary information, the plane crashed due to a pilot error.”

One witness, Baktygul Kurbatova, told local media: “I woke up because of a bright red light outside. I couldn’t understand what was happening.

“It turns out the ceiling and the walls were crashing on us. I was so scared but I managed to cover my son’s face with my hands so that debris would not fall on him.”

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