A plane carrying a delegation of the Libyan Army General Staff crashed in Turkey. What is known

On the evening of December 23, a Falcon 50 private jet carrying a delegation of the Libyan Army General Staff disappeared from radar over Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Later it became known that the aircraft crashed and crashed. Read more about the plane crash in the Izvestia article.

What happened

After the loss of the signal, the airspace over the city was closed. Against the background of the incident, eyewitnesses reported reports of a strong explosion near Ankara's Esenboga airport. After the incident, the TRHaber portal published footage of an explosion in the sky, presumably due to an airplane crash. It is noted that earlier a request for an emergency landing was received from the board. However, the connection was later lost.

Further, the AirportHaber portal reported that the wreckage of the Falcon 50 was discovered in the Hayman area in Turkey. Representatives of the Armed Forces, the gendarmerie, the Office for Disaster Management and Emergency Situations (AFAD), the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country were involved at the site.

After some time, this information was officially confirmed by the head of the Turkish Interior Ministry, Ali Yerlikaya, on the social network.

"The wreckage of the plane that took off from Ankara Esenboga airport in Tripoli was discovered by our gendarmerie forces 2 km south of the village of Kesikkavak in the Khaiman region," he said.

After the crash, Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dbeiba expressed his condolences. Al Jazeera TV channel, citing a source, reported that the Turkish authorities had notified Libya of the deaths of all passengers on board.

On the same day, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office launched an investigation into the circumstances of the plane crash, the head of the Government of National Unity (GNA) of Libya, Abdelhamid Dbeiba, said.

Spare airfield: the West reported about Russia's plans to gain a foothold in southern Libya

It is speculated that the former Jamahiriya could replace Syria for Moscow

The cause of the crash could have been a technical malfunction, the version of sabotage has been ruled out, a Turkish official told Al Jazeera. Shortly before the crash, the aircraft's crew requested permission for an emergency landing due to an electrical malfunction.

Who was on board the plane

According to Al Jazeera, the Libyan Chief of the General Staff, Mohammed al-Haddad, four members of his entourage and three crew members were on board at the time of the crash.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.