Itek Air 737 crash at Bishek, last picture of EX-009

At least 25 people are believed to have survived when a Boeing 737 carrying 90 people crashed outside Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek.

The Boeing 737 was 10 minutes into its flight to Mashhad in northeastern Iran when it crashed between three and six miles miles from Manas airport, the country's main air hub, according to initial reports.

It comes less than a week after 153 people were killed when a SpanAir flight crashed on take-off from Madrid airport.

An airport official said the crash occurred after the crew on the Itek Air flight reported a technical problem and had decided to turn around and return to the airport.

Officials said the crash followed the sudden decompression of the jet, which came down in a field near a village.

Among the survivors, were seven out the 17 members of the basketball team from a school in the capital, Bishkek, said Health Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Bayalinova. Presidential adviser Tokon Mamytov, however, later said that the athletes were volleyball, not basketball players.

Rescue teams and firemen were dispatched to the site of the crash where reports said the plane was engulfed in fire.

US military officials at a nearby base sent fire crews and medical staff to the scene, said Aygul Karemshakova, a spokesman for the American base in Kyrgyzstan. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/n...

This photo of the crashed B773, EX-009 was taken at Moscow - Domodedovo by AP contributor Pavel Adzhigildaev just four days before the crash.