Ukrainian Airplane Carrying 180 Passengers, Crew Crashes In Iran

A Boeing 737 airplane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed immediately after take-off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini airport on Wednesday early morning. According to Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA, there were 180 passengers and crew on board, and their fate is unknown. The ISNA further reported that the Ukranian Airlines plane crashed due to technical problems.

The airplane is said to be enroute for Kiev from Tehran. 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.”

Take a look:

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. pic.twitter.com/WXmvoNIEYy

— Matt Gjedde (@mdgjedde) January 8, 2020

Footage of the Ukranian plane crash in Iran 😯 #PS752 #Tehran pic.twitter.com/9l7KnM5O6E

— Chewy (@Chewy9991) January 8, 2020

This 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.

In response, US aviation authorities closed off the airspace over Iran and the Gulf region to all US carriers.

Also Read: ‘All Is Well, Assessing Casualties’: Donald Trump’s Maiden Remark On Iran Missile Attack

Ukrainian International Airlines is the flag carrier of Ukraine and serves almost 90 destinations. It began flying to Tehran in the summer of 2014.