IRAQ:A cargo aircraft carrying Turkish workers crashed during landing at an airstrip north of Baghdad, killing 32 people and injuring at least one, according to the Turkish foreign ministry.
Initial reports indicated the aircraft crashed due to bad weather and heavy fog, an official said yesterday. The pilot had aborted an initial attempt to land because of heavy fog, then crashed on a second attempt.
The foreign ministry confirmed that the crash happened at Balad, but did not say whether it was at the US base there.
Adana governor Cahit Kirac said the Antonov-26 aircraft, belonging to the Moldovan Aerian air company, had taken off from Sakirpasa airport in Turkey's southern city of Adana and was carrying mostly construction workers.There were 35 people on board, 29 Turks and one American, as well as three air crew members from Moldova, one from Russia and one from Ukraine, the governor said. It was unclear whether anyone escaped uninjured.