Kyrgyzstan searches for more victims at plane crash site

Kyrgyzstan was observing a national day of mourning on Tuesday as rescuers searched for more bodies in the wreckage of a cargo plane that crashed into a village outside the capital. Authorities in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country have blamed pilot error for Monday's crash of a plane operated by ACT Airlines, a Turkish cargo carrier, as it was attempting to land in fog at Manas airport in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. The death toll climbed to 38 on Tuesday after the discovery of the body of the plane's fourth pilot at the crash site in the village of Dacha Suu, Deputy Prime Minister Mukhammetkaly Abulgaziev said on state television. But Abulgaziev warned that the toll could go higher. "It is not clear how many people still remain under the debris," said Abulgaziev who visited the crash site. "So the search for more possible victims continues." The health ministry said in a statement that 13 people remained hospitalised with injuries sustained in the crash, which happened as the Boeing 747-400 was travelling from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek. Kyrgyz authorities also said on Tuesday that the plane's second black box has been recovered. The first box was found on Monday. An analysis of the boxes will be carried out by international aviation experts who arrived in Bishkek on Tuesday, the government said in a statement. Meanwhile, Kyrgyz authorities said visibility at Manas airport on Monday was sufficient for landing despite the fog. And the country's interior ministry said that "no trace of explosives" has been discovered at the crash site.