Ankara, Dec 24 (AP) Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah has confirmed the death of Libyan military chief Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and four others in a plane crash in Turkey on Tuesday evening.
The prime minister said in a statement on Facebook that the “tragic accident" took place as the Libyan delegation was “returning from an official trip to Ankara.” He called it a "great loss” to Libya.
Officials in Libya said contact with the plane was completely lost about half hour into the flight because of a technical malfunction.
Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya. He played a crucial role the UN-brokered ongoing efforts to unify Libya's military, which has split much like Libya's institutions.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's interior minister says wreckage has been found after a small private jet plane carrying the Libyan military chief and four others crashed near Ankara on Tuesday.
The minister, Ali Yerlikaya, says the wreckage was found near Ankara, Turkey's capital. He had no immediate word on the fate of the people aboard the Falcon 50 type business jet.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's air traffic controllers lost contact on Tuesday with a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and four other people home after a visit to Turkey, the Turkish interior minister said.
The minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said the Falcon 50 type business jet took off from Esenboga airport in Turkey's capital, Ankara, at 8:30 p.m. Contact with the aircraft was lost 40 minutes later, the minister said in a social media post.
The plane issued an emergency landing signal near Haymana, a district south of Ankara, before all communication ceased, Yerlikaya said.
Security camera footage aired on local television stations showed the night sky over Haymana suddenly lit up by what appeared to be an explosion.
The Libyan military chief, Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, was in Ankara, where he met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and other officials.
Following the reports, the airport in Ankara was closed and several flights were diverted to other locations, private NTV news channel reported. (AP)
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