Baghdad, Iraq – A plane from Turkey crashed near Balad while trying to land in heavy fog Tuesday, and officials said 34 people died. Most were Turkish construction workers.
The cause of the crash, some 50 miles north of Baghdad, was not clear. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said reports indicated the aircraft went down because of bad weather. An Iraqi security official said it wasn’t known if the plane was shot down or had mechanical problems.
The Turkish Embassy reported there was one severely injured survivor, a Turk.
The Iraqi security official at Baghdad airport, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said most passengers were Turks who worked at the Baghdad airport.
The pilot aborted an initial attempt to land because of heavy fog, then crashed on a second attempt, the Turkish Foreign Ministry official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not yet been authorized.
Turkish news agencies said the plane was trying to land at a U.S. military base at Balad.
The Antonov-26 plane belonged to the private Moldovan air-cargo company Ariantur M. It took off from Turkey’s southern city of Adana, and most of those aboard worked for the Kulak construction company, Adana’s governor said.
Gov. Cahit Kirac said one American, one Russian and one Ukrainian were also aboard.
About 300 Turkish companies are active in Iraq, employing 8,000 to 10,000 Turkish workers, mostly in construction. Most workers come from Turkey’s impoverished southeast region bordering Iraq, where jobs are scarce and pay is low.
