About 71 people have been killed and 20 people survived when a passenger jet crashed outside Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek today, prime minister Igor Chudinov said.
The plane, chartered by an Iranian company and heading for Tehran, crashed soon after take off, a spokeswoman for Manas airport, 30 km (20 miles) from Bishkek, said.
"It took off and reported a technical problem and tried to return to the airport," the spokeswoman said.
The flight was run by private Kyrgyz company Itek-Air, she said.
Initially, Russian news agencies and officials said 123 people were on board but later the number was revised to 90.
A Reuters correspondent saw at least two ambulances rushing from the airport towards Bishkek. A health ministry spokeswoman said at least nine injured people were taken to city hospitals.
Interfax news agency quoted health ministry spokeswoman Yelena Belyaninova as saying that doctors found many people at the crash site with injuries.
Russian news agencies said the plane was a Boeing-737. It fell several km (miles) from the airport near the village of Dzhangi-Dzher.
Reuters