At Least 37 Dead in Kyrgyzstan Plane Crash, Including Children

At least 37 people have been killed after a Turkish cargo plane originally flying from Hong Kong to Istanbul crashed Monday in Kyrgyzstan as it landed amid fog in the Manas airport. A number of children are among the dead, and at least 15 buildings have been destroyed, according to news reports.

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The Boeing 747 TC-MCL aircraft, operated by ACT Airlines, was stopping in Manas on its way to Istanbul, Turkey. Though visibility was poor due to the heavy, freezing fog, the company has said in a statement that it does not yet know the cause of the crash and is awaiting more “clear information.”

"Our TC-MCL signed plane, flying on Jan. 16 from Hong Kong to Bishkek, crashed on landing at Bishkek at the end of the runway for an unknown reason,” reported the Istanbul-based airline, operating under the name MyCargo.

The 14-year-old plane reportedly came down shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time in the village of Dacha-Suu, a holiday resort area near the airport, according to BBC News.

The destruction and death toll have been quite dramatic.

According to one witness speaking to AFP news agency, "The plane crashed into the houses. It killed entire families. There's nothing left of the houses. Many people were sleeping."

Some residents thought the event had been an earthquake.

“Around 7:00 in the morning I heard a strong (noise) and after that all the nearest houses were shaken,” one resident, Andrei Andreyev, told The Guardian. “Of course, everyone got frightened and started to run out of the houses to the street.

“Nobody understood what was going on because there was a fog, the weather was not good.”

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A spokesperson for the country’s emergency service has said that the death toll could increase and that “major work is under way” to search for more survivors, with more than 1,000 rescue workers having arrived at the scene by late morning. The missing may also include one pilot.

At least four other people were on board, according to officials, and several others have already been taken to the hospital with injuries.

Manas International Airport has been closed, while President Almazbek Atambayev has canceled a visit to China, according to Kyrgyz media reports.

Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov and local emergency services are at the scene.