Details of the passengers on the Ukrainian plane; 144 Iranians and 32 foreign nationals were killed
Following the crash of a Ukrainian plane after taking off from Imam Khomeini Airport near the new city of Parand in Tehran, killing 176 people on board, reports indicate that 144 of the victims were Iranian citizens, 11 Ukrainian citizens, 10 Afghan citizens, four Swedish citizens, one British citizen, and six Canadian citizens.
Iranian media reported on Wednesday morning that a Boeing 737 plane crashed near the new city of Parand in Tehran province at 6:18 a.m. local time after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, bound for Kiev, Ukraine, killing all 167 passengers and 9 crew members on board.
Sharif University of Technology has also confirmed that 13 students of this university lost their lives in this incident.
The crash of the Ukrainian plane occurred hours after “Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops,” according to the Associated Press. But Ukrainian and Iranian officials said a technical failure likely led to the downing of the Boeing 737.
The Associated Press previously reported, citing Ukrainian airport officials, that most of the passengers on the plane were Iranian students returning to Kiev after the New Year holidays. Iran's Forensic Medicine Organization also reported that the process of identifying the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash will take about three days to a week.
According to reports, the "Ukrainian plane crashed in an uninhabited area and agricultural land, and there was no damage to the surrounding houses."
A Boeing official told The Associated Press that it was aware of the events in Iran and was gathering information. Reports also indicate that the plane's two black boxes have been found.
Source: Voice of America
