Tehran : All the passengers on-board Ukrainian plane died after the aircraft crashed on Wednesday in Iran’s capital Tehran due to technical problems. The Boeing 737 jet, with at least 165 passengers, crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini Airport, according to Iranian state-run news outlet IRNA. The total number of passengers cannot be ascertained yet, however, there were 160-180 passengers and crew on-board.
In a video, the plane can be seen burning like a ball of fire in the sky before crashing in a huge explosion. The Boeing took off at 6.12 am (Tehran time) and went down about eight minutes later.
“The fire is so heavy that we cannot (do) any rescue… we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site,” Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran`s emergency services, told state television as reported by Reuters. The airline`s call centre in Kiev said it had no information yet, added Reuters.
Reacting to the tragedy, Boeing took to Twitter asserting that it is gathering more information on the matter. “We are aware of the media reports out of Iran and we are gathering more information,” tweeted The Boeing Company.
Kashani said that the plane bound for Kiev and carrying 176 passengers and crew crashed around Parand, about 60 kilometres south-west of Tehran. “An investigation team from the national aviation department was dispatched to the location after the news was announced and rescuers are trying to collect the dead,” Kashani told ISNA.
Flight data from the airport showed a Ukrainian 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines took off Wednesday morning, then stopped sending data almost immediately afterwards, according to website FlightRadar24.
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