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Kyrgyz passenger plane crashes, dozens dead

Olga Dzyubenko
BISHKEK
Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:53pm EDT
Twenty-five people out of 90 aboard a Kyrgyz passenger plane which crashed outside the capital Bishkek on Sunday have survived, the country's emergencies minister said. REUTERS/Graphic

BISHKEK (Reuters) - A Kyrgyz passenger plane crashed outside the capital Bishkek on Sunday and 25 people of the 90 people on board have survived, Kyrgyzstan's emergencies minister said.

World  |  Russia

The plane, chartered by an Iranian company and heading for Tehran, crashed soon after take off, a spokeswoman for Manas airport, 30 km (20 miles) from Bishkek, said.

"It took off and reported a technical problem and tried to return to the airport," the spokeswoman said.

The flight was run by private Kyrgyz company Itek-Air, she said.

Initially, Russian news agencies and officials said 123 people were on board but later the number was revised to 90.

"There were 90 people on board, 25 of them survived," Emergencies Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev told Reuters.

A Reuters correspondent saw at least two ambulances rushing from the airport towards Bishkek. A Health ministry spokeswoman said at least 9 injured people were taken to city hospitals.

Interfax news agency quoted Health Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Belyaninova as saying that doctors found many people at the crash site with injuries.

Russian news agencies said the plane was a Boeing-737. It fell several km (miles) from the airport near the village of Dzhangi-Dzher.

(Writing by Oleg Shchedrov; editing by Jon Boyle and Angus MacSwan)
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