Kazakhstan probe of fatal crash begins
Technical failure, pilot error and weather conditions are being considered as possible causes of the plane crash in which 12 people were killed and more than 50 injured, officials in Kazakhstan said Saturday.
A Bek Air jet, identified as a 23-year-old Fokker 100, crashed Friday morning, several minutes after departing from the airport of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city and former capital.
The plane with 98 people on board apparently struggled to get off the ground, with its tail striking the runway twice during takeoff.
Residents of Almaty were continuing to bring flowers and candles to a makeshift memorial near the airport entrance and 49 people injured in the crash were still hospitalized.
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said Saturday that the investigation of the tragedy was underway. Police are analyzing documents, audio and video recordings related to the crash; questioning officials and passengers; and inspecting the airport’s infrastructure.
The Ministry of Industry also said that the plane’s flight recorders would be passed on to the Interstate Aviation Committee in Moscow for examination and analysis.
War records requested
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked El Salvador on Saturday to turn over records related to the country’s civil war to the courts and victims of alleged human rights abuses.
In a preliminary report following a recent visit to the country, the commission also requested that missing or destroyed documents from the period be reconstructed.
Defense Ministry officials told the human rights commission that there are no records detailing who was in charge of military operations during the 12-year conflict, which claimed more than 75,000 lives.
Of particular interest are records related to the 1981 El Mozote massacre, in which 989 civilians were killed. Salvadoran Judge Jorge Alberto Guzman, who is in charge of the investigation into that massacre, ordered President Nayib Bukele in November to deliver all the military files related to the El Mozote killings.
The killings were allegedly perpetrated by soldiers seeking to root out guerrilla forces during the country’s civil war. Bodies were found torched inside a church, and forensic scientists uncovered 136 skeletons of children in one mass grave in the community.
UK’s address blooper
The British government gave out Elton John’s address along with those of other famous people in an embarrassing gaffe late Friday and early Saturday.
British officials published the addresses of celebrities, top officials, politicians and more than 1,000 other somewhat known people as part of a New Years Honors List, the Guardian reported. In addition to Sir Elton, actress Olivia Newton-John was among those affected by the unintentional data reveal. Officials addressed the issue and apologized Saturday for accidentally leaking the information.
The data were dumped in a 2020 New Years Honors List that “recognizes the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom.”