Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashes near Tehran; all on board 'killed'
A Ukrainian plane crashed near the new city of Parand, Tehran, after taking off from Imam Khomeini Airport, killing all 176 people on board.
Iranian media reported on Wednesday morning that a Boeing 737 plane crashed near the new city of Parand in Tehran province after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, bound for Kiev, Ukraine.
Ali Kashani, a spokesman for Imam Khomeini Airport City, said the plane caught fire and crashed due to a "technical fault." The accident killed all 167 passengers and nine crew members on board.
A spokesman for the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced that most of the passengers on the crashed plane were Ukrainian and Iranian, and that there were also passengers of other nationalities on the flight. The identities of the victims of the accident have not yet been released.
The Associated Press reported, citing Ukrainian airport officials, that most of the passengers on the plane were Iranian students returning to Kiev after the New Year holidays.
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.
Source: Voice of America
