Accessibility links

Breaking News

Kyrgyz President Orders Probe Of Plane Collision


(RFE/RL) BISHKEK, September 27, 2006 -- Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev today ordered an investigation into a ground collision between a Kyrgyz passenger plane and a military plane from the U.S.-led coalition, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.


Bakiev ordered the Transportation Ministry to conduct the probe into the September 26 incident.


The Kyrgyz Tu-154 passenger plane was moving onto the runway to take off when it struck a military refueling plane, igniting a fire on the military plane.


U.S. military spokesperson Anne Carpenter said the fire was quickly put out.


"The emergency service of the Manas International Airport and U.S. firefighters stationed at Manas air base responded to an emergency and extinguished a fire on a KC-135 stratotanker on the airfield at Manas International Airport at approximately 8:00 p.m. last night," Carpenter said.


There were 52 passengers and nine crew members on board the Kyrgyz aircraft and three aboard the U.S. plane. No casualties were reported.


(with material from AKIpress, Interfax)

Military Bases In Central Asia

Military Bases In Central Asia

Click on the map for an enlarged image.

PROJECTING POWER: Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the onset of the war on terror, Central Asia has played an important role in military-security issues. At times, Russia and the West have clashed over questions related to military deployments. RFE/RL has provided extensive coverage of this increasingly important geopolitical matter.


RELATED ARTICLES

U.S. Official Discusses Policy In Central Asia

Kazakhstan Looks To Build On Alliance With Putin

The Geopolitical Game In Central Asia

Dushanbe Conference Focuses On Regional Security

Russia And U.S. Often At Odds In Central Asia

China-Russia Bloc Challenges U.S. In Region


THE COMPLETE STORY: Click on the icon to view a dedicated webpage bringing together all of RFE/RL's coverage of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG