About 70 people died on Sunday when a Kyrgyz airliner crashed outside the capital of Kyrgyzstan -- Bishkek. Among the dead were members of a local basketball team comprised of teenagers.
The Boeing 737-200 was chartered by an Iranian company and bound for Tehran. It crashed soon after take-off on Sunday near Manas airport, located about 30 kilometers from Bishkek.
 |
|
At least 25 passengers survived the crash of a Boeing-737 passenger jet near Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan on Sunday. [Xinhua/AFP]
|
A spokeswoman for the airport says the plane reported a technical problem... and tried to return to the airport before the crash. According to initial reports, the plane suffered from a sudden loss of pressure, causing the pilot to request an emergency landing.
Kyrgyz Emergencies Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev said 90 people were on board and 25 of them survived. But later, after an emergency meeting, Prime Minister Igor Chudinov said there were fewer survivors than that.
17 teenagers from a local sports school basketball team were on board. Seven of them survived and were in hospital.
Government officials also say 51 of the passengers were nationals of China, Turkey, Iran and Canada. But no further details were given.
A full list of survivors and those who died in the crash, is expected early on Monday.
(CCTV August 27, 2008)
