A Uzbek passenger jet crashed near the Uzbek capital, Tashkent on Tuesday evening as it prepared to land in thick fog, killing 37 people, including a United Nations official.

A government official said, on condition of anonymity, the Soviet-era Yak-40 airliner belonged to the country's national air company.

The tragedy happened at about 7: 40 p.m. local time (1440 GMT) during the landing circuit after a flight from Termez, on the border of Afghanistan, to Tashkent, he said.

Among the killed was Richard Conroy, 56, who was a United Nations resident coordinator in the country and an official of the world body's Development Program, said the spokesman.

President Islam Karimov had visited the accident site, said Russia's Itar-Tass news agency.

A special committee has been set up to delve into the cause of the accident. The possibility of a terrorist attack has been ruled out.

Some analysts believed thick clouds in proximity to the airport might be one of the reasons which triggered the accident.

Tashkent airport has been placed under tight control, all arriving flights having to use the standby airport, and departing flights canceled.

Confusions still reigned in the airport with security guards in service and weeping friends and relatives of the victims awaiting further information.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2004)