Turkish investigators probe wreckage site after Libyan army chief plane crash

Search and recovery teams on Wednesday intensified their operations at the site of a plane crash that killed Libya’s military chief and other high-level officers after a night of heavy rain and fog.

The plane carrying Libyan army's Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and his accompanying delegation went down on Tuesday after taking off from the Turkish capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who visited the scene on Wednesday, said that the wreckage of the Falcon 50-type business jet was found by Turkish security teams about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) south of Kesikkavak village in Haymana district of the province.

The plane reported at 20:32 that it would be returning due to a technical malfunction and contact was lost some 20 minutes later.

Operations at the site of the crash accelerated at daybreak, with teams securing the area and preventing civilian access.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Türkiye's disaster management agency, AFAD, had set up a mobile coordination center at the site. A total of 408 personnel, seven aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have also been deployed to the site.

Specialized vehicles, such as tracked ambulances, were deployed because of the muddy terrain.

Libya’s Government of National Unity has declared three days of national mourning following the deaths.