Plane crash in Turkey: first details about deaths of Libya's military leadership emerge

The Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported on the incident on the social media platform X, according to Ukrinform.

"At 20:52 [19:52 Kyiv time], contact was lost with a Falcon 50 business jet, tail number 9H-DFJ, which departed Ankara Esenboga Airport at 20:10 bound for Tripoli. Near Haymana [a settlement in Ankara Province], an emergency landing request was received from the aircraft; however, communication was subsequently lost," he said.

Later, he added that the wreckage of the aircraft was found 2 km south of the village of Kesikkavak in the Haymana district. There were five passengers on board, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Libyan Armed Forces, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, as well as the Commander of the Libyan Ground Forces, the head of the Military Production Authority, an adviser to the Chief of the General Staff, and a staff photographer.

According to media reports, all passengers were killed, and the wreckage was scattered over a large area.

"We received the news of the death of the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and his colleagues with great sorrow. This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military institution, and the entire people," said Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc reported that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the plane crash.

At present, the deaths of the aircraft's passengers are confirmed; there is no information yet about the fate of the pilots.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Libyan Army Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad was killed in a plane crash during an official visit to Turkey.

Photo: Enes Yildirim/AA