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A passenger plane has crashed - reportedly
shortly after take-off - in Kyrgyzstan's capital,
Bishkek.
There were reported to be at least 83 people on board.
Unconfirmed reports said there were at least 25 survivors, but that
many people may have died.
Reports say the Itek Air Boeing 737 took off bound for
Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, but then turned round.
"It took off and reported a technical problem and tried to
return to the airport," an airport spokeswoman said. <!-- E
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Officials from a nearby US base said they were trying to
help with the rescue effort.
"At the moment rescue teams, fire brigades and medics are
rushing to the crash site," a spokeswoman for the US air base
located in Manas, 30km (20 miles) from Bishkek, told Russia's RIA
news agency.
There was confusion over the number of people on board -
with reports ranging from 83 to 123.
Yelena Bayalinova, spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz health
ministry, told the Interfax news agency that many victims of the
crash had suffered burns, and that some were in critical
condition.
The plane reportedly belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgyz company,
but was operated by Iran Aseman Airlines.
Itek Air is on a list of airlines banned from EU airspace
because of fears over safety standards.
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this sucks..