Terror Act Might Be Behind Kyrgyz Plane Crash – Agency

Excerpt from report by privately-owned Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg website

The press service of the Itek Air airline thinks that a terrorist act might have caused the crash of a Boeing-737 in Kyrgyzstan, sources in the airline’s office have told the 24.kg news agency.

“We simply assume that there could have been a terrorist act, because all our planes which fly to Russia and to the town of Osh are in excellent state. And here the plane, which is full of passengers, most of whom are Iranians… [ellipsis as published] Do you get me?” the sources in Itek Air’s press service said.

In reply to a question as to whether an explosion on board could be the reason behind the crash, if there was not technical malfunction, the sources in the airline’s press service said: “All the circumstances are now being checked.”

It was not possible to find out whether competent bodies were working on a terrorist act version, as, according to the employees of Itek Air, “the management is now in shock”. “They are running back and forth to various authorities, and we almost do not see them,” the sources in the airline’s press service concluded.

[Passage omitted: covered details of the plane crash]

Originally published by 24.kg website, Bishkek, in Russian 1032 25 Aug 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Central Asia. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.