US tanker plane crashes near Kyrgyz-Kazakh border (UPDATE)
By Arslan Abbasov
A US cargo plane has crashed after taking off from an airbase in Kyrgyzstan, local reports say.
The KC-135 Stratotanker tanker aircraft had left the US Manas airbase near the capital Bishkek, officials told AFP.
The emergency situations ministry said the plane had broken into three pieces but information about casualties has yet to be released.
According to the preliminary reports, the rescuers found parachutes near the crash area, so there is a possibility of the crew to stay alive.
Witnesses of the Kyrgyzstan crash told local media that they heard a boom and saw an explosion.
The transport plane was carrying a cargo of fuel when it disappeared off the radar near the mountain village of Chaldybar, close to the border with Kazakhstan, Reuters reported.
The tanker aircraft costs $39.6 million, KyrTAG news agency reported.
According to the technical characteristics of the aircraft, the number of its crew members is five.
The US military uses the Manas airbase to maintain its operations in Afghanistan.
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