Ukrainian passenger plane crashes in Iran; all 170 on board dead

Monitoring Desk

TEHRAN: All 170 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed Wednesday after taking off from Tehran were killed, Iran’s Red Crescent 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 Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near the airport and burst into flames.

 “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.

According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane that crashed was Flight PS 752 and was flying to Kiev.

IRNA said according to preliminary information “the plane was bound for Kiev … and had 180 passengers and crew.”

Boeing said the company was aware of media reports of a plane crash in Iran and was gathering more information.

US civil flights banned over Gulf, Iraq, Iran: regulator

The US Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it was banning US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf following rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq.

“The (FAA) issues Notices to Airmen tonight outlining flight restrictions that prohibit US civil aviation operators from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman,” it said in a statement. “The FAA will continue closely monitoring events in the Middle East.”

Intense military jet activity over Iraq capital

Military jets could be seen flying over the Iraqi capital early Wednesday, hours after Tehran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases where US troops are located.

AFP correspondents saw jets cutting through the clouds over Baghdad but could not immediately identify the planes. Iran´s strikes came in response to a US drone attack last week that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Courtesy: (Reuters)