Libyan army chief has died in a plane crash. All those on board the ship are believed to have perished as well.
The country’s Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed his death in a statement, while the interior minister claimed all evidence pointed to a technical malfunction.
The Prime Minister described the general’s death as a tremendous loss to the nation.
Video images posted on social media channels reportedly show wreckage of the plane scattered around the crash site.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Dassault Falcon 50 jet about 30 minutes after it took off from Esenboga Airport on Tuesday evening.
Libya’s Chief of General Staff, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, was aboard the private jet.
Five members of his crew, along with two pilots and a cabin crew member, are believed to be on board. The general had earlier on Tuesday spoke with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler.
Witnesses reported hearing two explosions near the airport, and nearby CCTV cameras captured sudden lights in the night sky.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted a statement on his social media page confirming that contact with the plane had been lost.
“Contact has been lost with the Falcon 50-type business jet, tail number 9H-DFJ, which took off from Ankara Esenboga Airport to Tripoli at 20:10 this evening, as of 20:52.”
“An emergency landing report was received from the aircraft near Hemana; however, contact with the aircraft could not be re-established thereafter.
The plane was carrying five passengers.
“The plane was carrying five passengers, including the chief of the Libyan General Staff, General Muhammad Ali Ahmed al-Haddad. The public will be informed about the developments.”
Officials said a search and rescue team has been sent to the area. There are also reports that the wreckage of the plane has been found.
The Libyan general discussed defence cooperation and regional security during talks with his Turkish counterpart, General Selçuk Bektaroglu.
Delegation-level meetings were also held, in which Turkish Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel and Libyan Land Forces Commander Lieutenant General Futuri Griebel joined the discussions.
Ankara has close ties with the UN-backed government in Tripoli, to which it provides economic and military assistance.
Al-Haddad was the top military commander in western Libya. He played a key role in the ongoing UN-brokered efforts to unify the Libyan military, which has become as divided as Libya’s institutions.
