A major plane accident has occurred in Turkey. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibe has confirmed the death of five people, including the country’s military chief Muhammad Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, in a plane crash in Turkey. The accident occurred on Tuesday evening when the Libyan delegation was returning to their country after an official visit from Turkey’s capital Ankara.
In a statement issued by Prime Minister Dbeibah, he described the incident as accidental and extremely tragic and said that it is a big loss for Libya. He also expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
Lost contact due to technical fault
According to Libyan officials, contact with the plane was completely lost about 30 minutes after takeoff. Initial information said that the contact ended due to a technical fault.
Debris recovered, accident confirmed
Earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya had said that the wreckage of a Falcon-50 class private jet carrying the Libyan military chief and four other people has been recovered near Ankara. However, later the Libyan Prime Minister officially confirmed that everyone was killed.
The accident happened immediately after the flight
According to the Turkish Interior Minister, the plane took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at around 8:30 pm on Tuesday evening. After about 40 minutes, air traffic control lost contact with the plane. Earlier, the plane had sent a signal for emergency landing near Haymana district, south of Ankara. Security camera footage shown on local TV channels showed a sudden bright light in the sky over the Haimana area, which was interpreted as a possible explosion.
Al-Haddad was on Turkish tour
Muhammad Ali Ahmed al-Haddad came to Ankara on an official visit to Turkey, where he met Turkish Defense Minister Yaser Güler and other senior officials. Al-Haddad was the top military commander in western Libya and was considered a key player in the UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s fragmented army.
Airport closed, flights diverted
Following news of the accident, Ankara Airport was temporarily closed and many flights were diverted to other locations. At present the investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing. This incident is being considered a serious blow to Libya’s security and politics.
