By Xinhua,
Tehran : Some 44 Iranians died in the crash of a Boeing-737 plane near Bishkek, capital of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, the official IRNA news agency reported here Monday.
The plane of Kyrgyzstan’s private company Itek-Air crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff from the Bishkek airport, killing 65 people and leaving 25 others injured. The plane was leaving for the Iranian city of Mashhad.
Hashem Qadirian, an official of the Iranian Embassy to Kyrgyzstan, told IRNA that out of the total 90 passengers of the plane, 54 were Iranians.
Another 10 injured Iranians will be transferred to Iran to get treatment, Qadirian said, adding that efforts are still being made to identify the victims.
Apart from the flight’s six crew members and an airline staffer, foreign passengers from Canada, Turkey and China were also on aboard, according to media reports.