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Slovak military plane crashes in Hungary, killing 16: ministry

21 January 2006 [00:20] - TODAY.AZ
A Slovak military plane with 45 people on board crashed in northeastern Hungary, killing at least 16 people, interior ministry spokesman Tibor Dobson told, revising down a previous toll of 44.

He told AFP there was at least one survivor, who an emergency services spokesman said was in critical condition and taken to the hospital of Kosice, on the Slovakian side of the border.

"We know of at least 16 dead and at least one survivor so far," Dobson said, adding that rescue efforts were being slowed because the wooded area where the crash took place was difficult to access by vehicles.

Dobson said the AN-24 military plane, which was en route from Kosovo to Slovakia carrying Slovak peacekeeping troops, burst into flames at the crash site near Telkibanya, close to the border with Slovakia.

Dobson said there were 45 people on board including eight crew members.

Slovakian defence sources meanwhile reported there were 43 people on board, adding that between 10 and 16 people had died.

Hungarian news reports said the plane had crashed into a mountain, but Dobson could not confirm this.

More than 10 ambulances raced to the scene of the crash, emergency services spokesman Pal Gyorfi told AFP.

"Our staff are searching for the plane passengers," Gyorfi said.

He said the search and rescue effort was being slowed by the difficult terrain.

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany personally informed his Slovak counterpart Mikulas Dzurinda about the accident.

The plane was carrying Slovak troops from Pristina, where they were serving as peacekeepers, to Kosice in Slovakia, defence ministry spokesman Istvan Bocskai said.

He said the plane disappeared off the radar screen at 1938 local time (1838 GMT) and was noticed by both Hungarian and Slovak air traffic controllers.

"Slovakia immediately dispatched a rescue helicopter to the area, where they saw fire," Bocskai told AFP.

Bocskai said the Hungarian defence ministry's troops at the scene included reconnaissance teams as well as soldiers equipped with night vision glasses to aid in the rescue effort overnight.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/society/22301.html

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