Turkish Boeing 747 Crashes Into Village, 37 People Killed

Boeing 747, which was a Turkish cargo plane, crashed into a village in Kyrgyzstan. It killed the four crew and 33 people in the destroyed village.

The plane was managed by ACT Airlines and was supposed to land at Manas airport, 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the capital, Bishkek. On the other hand, it crashed and devastated a village. About 15 buildings were ruined and 33 people were killed with several children among the dead.

Deputy PM Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev stated that according to the preliminary information, the cause of the plane crash is due to pilot error. The authorities have declared a day of mourning on Tuesday, according to BBC News.

Click for Xinhua's exclusive footage of a Turkish cargo plane crash wreckage near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan pic.twitter.com/Z5QOHsWc5A

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Baktygul Kurbatova, a witness, said he woke up because of a bright red light outside and could not understand what was happening. He further said that it turns out the ceiling and the walls were crashing on them. He was so scared but he managed to cover his son's face with his hands so that the debris would not fall on him.

CNN reports that the 747 cargo plane was headed from Hong Kong to Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek. It crashed at 7:18 a.m. local time into the village, which is about 2 kilometers away from Manas airport.

The ACT Airlines, an Istanbul-based freight airline and operated the cargo plane, gave its deepest condolences to the families of the victims. It stated that Boeing extends its deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in the Turkish Airlines Cargo Flight TK6491 accident near Manas airport Kyrgyzstan, operated by ACT Airlines, as well as its wishes for the recovery of those injured. It further stated that a Boeing technical team stands ready to aid at the request and under the direction of government investigating authorities.