Azernews.Az

The Transport Prosecutor's Office of Kyrgyzstan commenced a criminal case on the crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial tanker of the United States in Chui province on May 3, the supervisory authority told KyrTAG news agency.

"It is too early to advance any prior versions and assumptions about the causes of the tragedy. A criminal case on the plane crash has begun," the prosecutor's office said.

The case is being commenced under article 280 (violation of safety rules and operation of the railway, air and water transport) of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. The investigation of the case is being conducted by the Central Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

The KC-135 Stratotanker aerial tanker belonging to the U.S. crashed in a mountainous area on May 3 at 14.55 near the villages of Chorgolu and Cholok-Aryk of Panfilov district of Chui province. Presumably there was 60-70 tons of jet fuel on board. The dead bodies of two pilots and three crew members were found at the crash scene on Saturday morning.

The U.S. side will collect debris and the remains of the crew members. The U.S. Department of Defence has officially confirmed the death of all those on board. A government commission headed by the Minister of Transport was created to investigate the incident. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan is also involved in the investigation.