A Turkish airliner skidded off a runway, crashed into a ditch and broke into three pieces while landing in bad weather in Istanbul on Wednesday.

At least three people have been killed and dozens injured in the accident.

Emergency workers, assisted by an excavator, recovered one body from beneath the wreckage before the rescue mission ended.

Prosecutors opened an investigation into the accident, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported.

Pegasus is a privately-owned airline based in Istanbul that flies 97 routes, mostly within Turkey and to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Last month, a Pegasus plane with 164 people on board skidded off the runway at the same airport in Istanbul. There were no deaths or injuries in that incident on January 7.

In January 2018, another Boeing 737 in the Pegasus fleet slid off a runway at northeast Turkey's Trabzon Airport and down a dirt embankment. None of the 168 passengers and crew members was injured.