Turkish cargo plane crash kills at least 37 in Kyrgyzstan

At least 37 people have died after a Turkish cargo plane crashed into a village in Kyrgyzstan.

The ACT Airlines flight crashed into the village of Dacha-Suu, just west of Manas International Airport, near the capital Bishkek, while trying to make a scheduled landing in dense fog at 7.31am (1.31am GMT). It was en route from Hong Kong to Istanbul.

Most of the victims are thought to have been on the ground and all four crew members are understood to have been killed.

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A witness told AFP: "The plane crashed into the houses, it killed entire families. There's nothing left of the houses, people were killed with their whole family, their children. Many people were sleeping."

More than 1,000 rescue workers were working on the scene by late morning, says the Daily Telegraph.

"The number of victims is increasing quickly," a spokeswoman for Kyrgyzstan's emergency ministry told CNN. "The fire service, rescue services, ministry of internal affairs and the Prime Minister and emergencies minister are there."

Emergency ministry chief Mukhammed Svarov said the crash had damaged 15 buildings and spread wreckage for several hundred yards.

Kyrgyzstan deputy prime minister Mukhammetkaly Abulgaziyev blamed pilot error for the crash, reports news agency Kloop.

ACT, which is also known as MyCargo, said: "Our TC-MCL signed plane, flying on January 16 from Hong Kong to Bishkek, crashed on landing at Bishkek at the end of the runway for an unknown reason.

"More information will be disclosed concerning our four-person team when we get clear information."