Acting Head of Border Control Service of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee among victims of plane crash

Among those aboard the plane that crashed in the Southern Kazakhstan was Turganbek Stambekov, the Acting Head of the Border Control Service of the country’s National Security Committee, a Tengrinews.kz journalist reports, citing the National Security Committee. December 25 at 18:55 local time a plane belonging to the Border Control Service crashed on its way from Astana to Shymkent 20 kilometers away from the airport of Shymkent. The AN-72 plane was carrying 7 crew members, 20 military personnel, including colonel Stambekov. Rescue teams are working on the spot of the crash. According to a reporter, only the tail part of the plane could be visible. No journalists or medical staff were allowed to the fragments. According to the National Security Committee, there is an investigation under way. Mr. Stambekov had been appointed the Acting Head of the Border Control Service of the National Security Committee back in July after Vice Head of the National Security Committee Nurzhan Myrzaliyev resigned following the much-covered- in- the- media mass murder at Kazakhstan's Arkankergen post on the border with China.