Itek Air - Canadians onboard ? via just4airlines.com
August 24, 2008 According ot the Associated Press: Reports that 24 people survived, including seven members of a high school basketball team from Bishkek.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov told Reuters the flight carried passengers from Canada, China, Turkey, Iran and Kyrgyzstan, but provided no further details.
A Foreign Affairs spokesperson said in an e-mail that the Canadian embassy in Kazakhstan is aware of news reports and that consular officials are in contact with local officials to confirm if any Canadians were on the plane.
Earlier, Kyrgstani Interior Minister Maldomusa Kongatiyev told the Associated Press there were 83 passengers and seven crew members aboard when the plane went down about 10 kilometres from the airport. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff during an attempt to return to Manas International Airport, where it had left for a flight to Tehran. The crew of the Boeing 737 reported a technical problem about 10 minutes into the flight.
At least 14 of the 24 survivors were admitted to hospital and two were in critical condition, emergency officials said.
An airport official said the plane belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgstani company, but was operated by Iran Aseman Airlines.
Itek Air has been barred from operating in European Union airspace because of failure to meet safety and aviation standards, according to a list published by the EU on July 24. Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Ramis Satybekov said the crash was likely caused by either an engine failure or a malfunction in the plane's flight control system. However, Daudova said the cause of the crash was decompression of the jet.
Source: Associated Press