A Turkish cargo plane flying from Hong Kong to Istanbul crashed into the village of Dacha-Suu in Kyrgyzstan this morning, with latest reports claiming it killed at least 37 people, according to The Telegraph.
Kyrgyzstan plane crash: Turkish jet crashes near airport At least 32 dead 6 kids among victims 15 Buildings damaged aje.io/66k3
When a nine-year-old boy saw the plane drop from the sky, he ran home from the neighbouring village where he was at school to find his entire family had died in the crash.
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The video contains distressing footage.
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The Boeing 747 was supposed to make a refuelling stop at Manas Airport but fog meant there was poor visibility and it crashed approximately two kilometres away from the runway. Officials are investigating whether it was due to the weather or a technical problem.
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It took out at least 15 buildings, said Mukhammed Svarov, head of crisis management services at the Emergencies Ministry, but reports also say that 60 buildings were damaged. The broken pieces of the plane still lie on top of Dacha-Suu buildings, having ripped the village into pieces.
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Rescue workers recovered the pilot, who died soon after the crash, three of the crew who also didn't make it and the bodies of the villagers.
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Some of the villagers were lucky enough to survive. "The house was collapsing on us and I was worrying about my children, that they could die," one injured victim, Baktygul Kubatova, told AKIpress.
"We were sleeping at home as usual. I woke up after I saw something red in the window. I had no time to realise what happened. Then it turned out that the ceiling and the walls of the house was crashing. With fear, I covered my son with my hand to protect him from the ruins.
"We could not move and I started crying for help to get out of there.
"The house was collapsing over and over again. My child was crying. The neighbours came to help.
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"My daughter received injuries, as she was sleeping near the window, while me and my son were sleeping on the floor."
As soon as we got out of the house, we immediately ran to the neighbours to wait for my brother there.
"But all other houses were on fire, all of them were destroyed, everything was damaged as if it was an earthquake. Thank God that we were just injured and stayed alive."
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It's thought that 12 children were killed in the accident. One crew member is still alive and in hospital. Turkish Airlines operated the Boeing 747, but Turkish carrier ACT owns it.
Turkish Airlines tweeted: "Our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the tragic incident involving an ACT Airlines aircraft in Kyrgyzstan."
Source: The Telegraph and The Mirror
Featured Image Credit: Barcroft