Situation of Moldovan crew crashed in Iraq still unclear

Information about the victims of the Moldovan plane crash in Iraq is still ambiguous more than 24 hours after the accident. Chisinau authorities are not yet informed whether the crew composed of 5 Moldovan citizens is alive, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the Civil Aviation Authority (ASAC), the aircraft was on a humanitarian mission and took off from the southern Turkish town of Adna. Five crewmembers, all of them Moldovan citizens, 29 Turkish workers and a US citizen were on board the AN-26 aircraft, operated by Moldova’s “Aerian-Tur-M” company. The crew of the twin engined AN-26 B-100 was composed of the pilot Anatol Sheflediuc, copilot Sergiu Mashtelear, flight engineers Alexei Ganja and Grigore Ciupricov, and flight attendant Petru Sarbu. To date, the Civil Aviation Authority is not informed whether the crewmembers were injured. An ASAC specialist was dispatched to examine the case. According to preliminary data, at least 30 Turkish citizens were killed and two others injured in this plane crash near an airport north of Baghdad. The plane crashed on Tuesday morning. The aircraft had a capacity to seat 48 people and carry 5 tons of cargo. The workers on board were from the Turkish construction company Kulak, Reuters reported, and one of the victims is said to be the company’s president, Ismail Kulak. According to Turkish civil aviation officials, the crash was reportedly caused by heavy fog. The plane burst into flame after a landing attempt.