Ankara: Libya’s army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four other Libyan officials have been killed in an air crash near the Turkish capital, Ankara, Libya’s Head of the Government of National Unity has said.
Head of the Government of National Unity of the State of Libya Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said in a statement that the crash on Tuesday was a “tragic accident” that occurred while the officials while returning from a trip from Ankara.
“This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military establishment, and all the people, as we have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication and were an example of discipline, responsibility, and national commitment,” he said in a statement.
Turkiye said its gendarmerie had found the wreckage of the plane carrying the Libyan chief of staff, which disappeared shortly after taking off from the Turkish capital.
“The wreckage of the business jet that departed Ankara’s Esenboga airport for Tripoli has been located by Turkish gendarmerie approximately two kilometres [1.2 miles] south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district” 74km (45 miles) from Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
Yerlikaya said earlier on X that the Falcon 50 business jet had taken off at 8:10pm (17:10 GMT) on Tuesday and radio contact was lost at 8:52pm (17:52 GMT).
He said the flight had made a request for an emergency landing while over the Haymana district but no contact was established afterwards.
Turkiye’s Ministry of Defence had announced the Libyan chief of staff’s visit to Ankara this week, saying he had met his Turkish counterpart and other military commanders.
