Turkish airport explosion kills cleaner

  • 24/12/2015
Members of the Turkish police search the area around Sabiha Gokcen Airport after an explosion left one dead and extensive damage to planes, Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Istanbul (AAP)
Members of the Turkish police search the area around Sabiha Gokcen Airport after an explosion left one dead and extensive damage to planes, Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Istanbul (AAP)

An explosion at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul has killed a female cleaner.

The woman who died was working on a Pegasus airlines plane overnight when the blast took place, the BBC reports.

A colleague who was with her was wounded.

The cause of the explosion is unknown and is under investigation, the airport told the BBC.

Flights appear to be running normally but armed police imposed tight security at the airport's entrance.

The woman killed, 30-year-old Zeyhra Yamac, died of head injuries.

No passengers were on the plane or nearby at the time, Pegasus said in a statement.

Police are investigating whether it was a bomb.

Fragments from the blast damaged five other planes, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim told the BBC.

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