Iran: All 176 Onboard Killed As Ukrainian Plane Crashes Shortly After Take-Off In Tehran

As per reports, the Ukraine-bound Boeing 737 jet crashed in Iran shortly after the take-off due to a technical issue.

Image: AFP

New Delhi: A Ukrainian plane headed for Kyiv crashed on Wednesday shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital city of Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, reports said. The plane had just taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran and the crash is suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues. Ukranian airline has stated that the crashed Boeing was new and was checked two days ago. A Ukraine minister has said that the crashed plane had 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians on board. 'No survivors on Ukrainian jetliner that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport with at least 170 people on board, the Associated Press reported quoting Iranian officials A BBC report quoted the head of Iran's Red Crescent as saying that it was "impossible" for anyone to have survived the crash. Press TV quoted Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, as saying that all the 160 passengers and nine crew members of the plane had died in the crash. An investigation team was at the site of the crash in southwestern outskirts of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said. "After taking off from Imam Khomeini international airport it crashed between Parand and Shahriar," Jafarzadeh said. "An investigation team from the national aviation department was dispatched to the location after the news was announced." State TV earlier said there were 180 passengers and crew aboard. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled. A Twitter video appeared to show the first footage of the Ukrainian airplane on fire.

#Breaking First footage of the Ukrainian airplane while on fire falling near #Tehran pic.twitter.com/kGxnBb7f1q

— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) January 8, 2020

This comes at a time when Iranian airspace is on high alert , in the wake of the US-Iran tensions, aggravated further by the latest missile attack by Iran on the latter’s military bases. According to Iranian state TV, the attacks were in revenge for the killing of the commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike on Friday, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. Two earthquakes hit Iran:  Two strong 'earthquakes' have struck Iran in the past 2 hours; the first a preliminary magnitude 5.5 & the second a 4.9, reports said. Watch here: