Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Moscow - At least 65 people are believed dead in the crash of an Itek Air Boeing 737 passenger liner shortly after takeoff from Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, the Kyrgyz authorities said early Monday.
The ill-fated airliner, bound for Tehran, was completely consumed by fire, according to the Civil Defence Ministry.
Tokon Mamitov, an advisor to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev, announced the revised death toll, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.