The plane crash of the Ukraine International Airlines flight comes the same day as Iran’s missile strike on the Ayn al-Asad Air Base and targets in Iraq
Tehran: On Tuesday midnight Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed shortly after taking off in Iran, Reuters reported, citing Iran’s Fars News Agency.
The Ukraine International Airlines flight crashed near the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport and was bound for Ukraine. The airplane was carrying 180 passengers and crew. The extent of the victim has not yet been confirmed.
According to reports suggested the flight crashed due to a technical malfunction.
The airline had not yet released a comment or any additional details regarding the plane crash.
Air traffic control monitoring website Flightradar24 posted on Twitter that it was monitoring reports of the downed flight, believed to be Flight PS 752, leaving Tehran for Kyiv, Ukraine. The last data received from the plane was sent two minutes after its departure.
“After taking off from Imam Khomeini international airport it crashed between Parand and Shahriar,” civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh told the Associated Press, who also confirmed that a team of investigators was sent to the crash area.
However, there is no damage to a nearby residential area, the likelihood of there being survivors is doubtful, according to initial reports from the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency, citing the Red Crescent Society of Iran.
Meanwhile, Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency services, remains hopeful some survivors will be found.
According to Reuters, “The plane is on fire but we have sent crews and we may be able to save some passengers,” Koulivand said, citing Iran’s state-run television station.
The plane crash of the Ukraine International Airlines flight comes the same day as Iran’s missile strike on the Ayn al-Asad Air Base and targets in Iraq. The targets in Erbil, Kurdistan were hit by cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles launched from within neighboring Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attacks.
On Tuesday evening, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the attacks on the bases concluded Iran’s retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani.
“Iran took concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens and senior officials were launched. We do not seek an escalation of the war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression,” Zarif wrote.
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