A Boeing 737 airplane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed immediately after take-off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini airport on Wednesday morning, killing all 176 passengers onboard, Iran's state television said.
"Obviously it is impossible that passengers" on flight PS-752 "are alive," the head of Red Crescent told semi-official news agency ISNA, adding that 170 passengers and crew had boarded the plane.
"The fire is so heavy that we cannot (do) any rescue... we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site," head of Iran's emergency services Pirhossein Koulivand told state television.
Meanwhile, Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told state television that the number of passengers on board the flight was 170.
In a statement, Ukraine Security Council has said that eleven Ukrainian citizens killed in Iran plane crash, including nine crew.
According to Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko, 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians were killed in the plane crash. Apart from Iranians and Canadians, Sweden's 10, Afghanistan's 4, Germany's 3, and United Kingdom's 3 citizens were killed. Also, 11 Ukrainians including 9 crew members were killed.
Vadym Prystaiko also expressed his condolences to the victim's family.
The ISNA had earlier reported that the Ukranian Airlines plane crashed due to technical problems. The airplane is said to be enroute for Kiev from Tehran.
Also, a video has appeared on social media which claimed to be the first footage of a Ukranian plane that crashed in Iran.
Flight radar information shows Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 abruptly disappearing after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini airport after taking off just after 6 am local time.
A twitter user Matt Gjedde said, “Reading reports of a Ukrainian 737 down in Tehran within the last hour. Obviously no confirmation, but this one matches and the track log ends abruptly.” Ukrainian International Airlines is the flag carrier of Ukraine and serves almost 90 destinations. It began flying to Tehran in the summer of 2014.
Ukrainian International Airlines is the flag carrier of Ukraine and serves almost 90 destinations. It began flying to Tehran in the summer of 2014.
The crash comes hours after Iran fired 12 ballistic missiles into an Iraqi airbase in the country's west where the US and coalition forces are based. The attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase came after pro-Tehran factions in Iraq had vowed to join forces to "respond" to an American drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi top commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad last week.
Also Read: WATCH: Ukrainian Passenger Plane Carrying 180 Crashes In Iran
In response, US aviation authorities closed off the airspace over Iran and the Gulf region to all US carriers.
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