Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibeh confirmed the death of Libya's Chief of Staff Mohammed Al-Haddad on Tuesday night after a jet carrying him and four others crashed after taking off from Ankara en route to Tripoli.
"This followed a tragic and painful incident while they were returning from an official trip from the Turkish city of Ankara. This grave loss is a great loss for the nation, for the military institution, and for all the people," Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said in a statement.
Libyan Chief of Ground Forces Al-Fitouri Gharibil, Libyan Military Manufacturing Authority Head Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, Libyan Military Advisor Mohammed Al-Asawi, and their companion Mohammed Al-Mahjoub were also confirmed to have died in the crash.
Authorities have reached the wreckage of the jet, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said after the confirmation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Yerlikaya said the radio signal from the jet was lost after takeoff.
Yerlikaya said on X/Twitter that the jet had taken off at 8:10 p.m. and radio contact was lost at 8:52 p.m. He said the flight had requested an emergency landing over the Haymana district of Ankara, but no further contact was established.
He added that the Dassault Falcon 50-type jet had made a request for an emergency landing while over Haymana, but that no contact was established.
Libyan chief of staff, four others on the jet
Four others were on the jet, he added, while flight tracking data showed other flights being diverted away from Ankara's Esenboga Airport.
Turkey's defense ministry had announced earlier that the Libyan chief of staff would visit, saying he had met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish chief of staff, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders.
While officials did not say whether the plane had crashed, footage on Turkish broadcasters showed a flash of light where the jet was said to have lost radio contact.
There was no immediate comment from Libyan officials.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the crash was underway.
The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity said in a statement that the prime minister directed the defense minister to send an official delegation to Ankara to follow up on proceedings.
Walid Ellafi, state minister of political affairs and communication for the GNU, told broadcaster Libya Alahrar that it was not clear when a crash report would be ready, but that the jet was a leased Maltese aircraft. He added that officials did not have "sufficient information regarding its ownership or technical history," but said this would be investigated.
Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Unity announced official mourning across the country for three days.
Turkey's defense ministry had announced Haddad's visit earlier, saying he had met with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders.
The crash occurred a day after Turkey's parliament passed a decision to extend the mandate of Turkish soldiers' deployment in Libya by two more years.
This is a developing story.