A Turkish airliner crashed near the town of Isparta in central Turkey on Friday, killing all 56 people on board, officials said. "Rescue teams have reached the wreckage...There are no survivors," AtlasJet airline's chief executive, Tuncay Doganer, told a televised news conference. Officials said all on board appeared to have been Turkish.

The 165-seat MD 83 plane, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, crashed in the early hours of Friday in mountains in the Isparta province of central Turkey. It had been flying from Istanbul with 49 passengers and seven crew. It was not immediately clear what had caused the crash, which occurred 12 km (7.5 miles) from Isparta's Suleyman Demirel airport.

Weather conditions were not abnormal at the time of the crash and that he knew of no technical deficiencies aboard the aircraft. The aircraft's black box should explain what happened, he said. Turkey is now in the grip of winter with snow and fog common on higher ground across much of the country.