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Kyrgyz Lawmakers Demand Answers After Deadly Plane Crash


Kyrgyz servicemen carry a body bag with a victim at the crash site of a Turkish cargo plane in the village of Dacha-Suu outside Bishkek, which killed 28 people earlier this week.
Kyrgyz servicemen carry a body bag with a victim at the crash site of a Turkish cargo plane in the village of Dacha-Suu outside Bishkek, which killed 28 people earlier this week.

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz lawmakers are demanding that the government explain why a cargo plane that crashed in a village outside the country's main airport earlier this week was traveling to Bishkek.

A Boeing 747 belonging to Turkey's ACT Airlines slammed into the village of Dacha-Suu while trying to land at Bishkek's Manas International Airport on January 16, killing the crew of four and 34 people on the ground.

Several lawmakers at a parliament session on January 19 accused the government of ignoring contradictory reports about the purpose of the plane's planned landing at Manas.

ACT Airlines said the plane was to unload unspecified commercial goods in Bishkek, while airport authorities and other Kyrgyz officials say the sole purpose of the stop was to refuel during a flight from Hong Kong to Istanbul.

"Our government is covering up information and saying that the plane was arriving to refuel," said Omurbek Tekebaev, one of two leading opposition lawmakers who created a parliamentary commission to investigate the ownership of the plane's cargo.

WATCH: Kyrgyz Plane Crash Kills More Than 30

Turkish Cargo Plane Crashes Into Kyrgyz Homes, Killing Dozens
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He claimed that "the Turks say that they were not delivering cargo to Bishkek for the first time -- they have done it 52 times before."

The Emergency Ministry said earlier that many boxes with electronic devices, including mobile phones and kitchen supplies, had been found at the crash scene.

Witnesses told RFE/RL that some manuals for the devices were written in Kyrgyz, which some lawmakers said suggests that the cargo was destined for Kyrgyzstan.

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