Turkish Airlines cargo plane crashes into Kyrgyzstan village killing 32

A Turkish cargo jet crashed near Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport on Monday, killing at least 32 people, most of them residents of a village struck by the Boeing 747 as it tried to land in dense fog, officials said.

According to the airport administration, the plane was supposed to make a stopover at Manas, near the capital city Bishkek, on its way from Hong Kong to Istanbul. It crashed when trying to land in poor visibility at 7:31 am local time.

The doomed plane damaged 15 buildings in the village according to the head of crisis management Mukhammed Svarov, adding that at least 32 people had been killed.

The total number of dead "could be bigger" Svarov said, adding that authorities had launched a huge search and rescue operation.

"Major work is underway," Svarov said. "The damage to infrastructure in the village is significant."

At least four pilots on the flight, which was travelling from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, were among the dead, the emergency services ministry said, with one pilot's body yet to be found.

Homes were damaged by the crash, according to the emergency services ministry, which said that the accident sparked fires that spread, but have now been localised.

"The plane crashed into the houses, it killed entire families," one eyewitness told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There's nothing left of the houses, people were killed with their whole family, their children. Many people were sleeping."

The country's Manas airport has been closed and flights cancelled until evening at the earliest, airport authorities said.

The government said in a statement that Deputy Prime Minister Moukhammetkali Aboulgaziev visited the scene, accompanied by the Ministers of Emergency Situations and Transport.

"Our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the tragic incident involving an ACT Airlines aircraft in Kyrgyzstan," Turkish Airlines said on its Twitter account.