Iran-bound jet banned in EU crashes after takeoff

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan | A passenger plane from an airline banned in Europe over safety concerns crashed Sunday shortly after taking off from Kyrgyzstan's main airport, killing at least 71 people on board, officials said.

About 10 minutes into the flight to Tehran, the crew of the Boeing 737 reported a technical problem and said the plane was returning to the airport, said an official at Manas International Airport who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to give her name.

Government spokeswoman Roza Daudova said at least 71 people on board the plane were killed and 24 survived. She said the known survivors included seven out of 17 members of a high school basketball team from Bishkek.

Kyrgyz Interior Minister Maldomusa Kongatiyev told the Associated Press that the plane was carrying 83 passengers and seven crew members when it went down six miles from the airport in the Central Asian country.

Maj. Damian Pickart, public affairs officer for the Manas U.S. air base, which is at the airport, said the U.S. base sent ambulances and firefighting equipment in response to a Kyrgyz request for help.

Emergency and government officials said the plane belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgyz company, but was operated by Iran Aseman Airlines. However, presidential adviser Tokon Mamytov said the plane both belonged to and was operated by Itek Air.

Itek Air has been banned from operating in EU airspace because of failure to meet safety and aviation standards, according to a list published by the European Union on July 24.

At least 14 people rescued from the burning plane were hospitalized, two of them in critical condition, Yelena Bayalinova, a spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz Health Ministry, told AP.

Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Ramis Satybekov said the crash was likely caused by an engine failure or a malfunction in the plane's flight control system. Miss Daudova, however, said the cause of the crash was decompression of the jet.

Kyrgyzstan is a poor, mountainous country west of China. The U.S. air base in the ex-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.

The United States has two bases in Central Asia, the one in Bishkek and the other in Uzbekistan, which are leased to support the U.S. military operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

• Associated Press writer Maria Danilova contributed to this report from Moscow.