BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan —  Emergency workers combed through the wreckage of a passenger jet Monday after it crashed outside Kyrgyzstan’s main airport, killing 65 people in an accident officials said was likely caused by technical problems.

The [1] Boeing 737 was headed to Tehran when it crashed Sunday near Bishkek’s Manas International Airport, government officials said. Twenty-five people survived the accident.

The crew reported a technical malfunction only five minutes into the flight, and it crashed shortly after as it was heading back to the airport, Transport and Communications Minister Nurlan Salaimanov said.

The plane burst into flames upon hitting a field about seven miles outside the airport.

Government spokeswoman Roza Daudova said the crash was likely caused by a decompression on board the jet. The plane belonged to the Kyrgyz company Itek Air, which was banned from operating in [2] European Union’s airspace because of failure to meet safety and aviation standards.

The U.S. air base in the ex-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan supports operations in nearby [3] Afghanistan, but Salaimanov ruled out terrorism as a cause of the crash.

“Without a doubt, this was not a terrorist act,” Salaimanov told reporters Monday.

[4] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409534,00.html