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Istanbul airport explosion injures two

Airside explosion reported at Sabiha Gokcen airport
Wednesday's explosion was reported at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport (AFP)
By AFP

Two people have been reported injured in an explosion of unknown origin at Istanbul's second international airport.

Two cleaners were injured in the blast on Wednesday at Sabiha Gokcen airport. The AFP news agency cited CNN-Turk and NTV television as saying one had died of head wounds suffered in the blast, but these reports were not confirmed.

Private airline company Pegasus Airlines told the Anadolou news agency that the explosion happened just outside the terminal building where planes park for their passengers to embark and disembark. 

"There were no passengers either on the plane or on the stairway. Sabiha Gokcen airport is continuing its normal operations," Pegasus said.

Sabiha Gokcen airport is named after Turkey's first female fighter pilot and is the second international airport in Istanbul after Ataturk airport.

"We are working very closely with the Turkish government and our counterparts to facilitate the investigation, and we await their official report on it," Dato' Azmi Murad, the executive director of Sabiha Gokcen said in a statement.

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