Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane crashes in Iran, all 170 aboard killed
08 January, 2020
A Ukrainian airliner carrying at least 170 passengers crashed on Wednesday (Jan 8) due to technical problems soon after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, the Fars news agency said.
The Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near the airport and burst into flames.
Ambulances were sent to the crash site, but all on board the plane were killed, said Iran's Red Crescent, a non-governmental humanitarian organisation.
"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.
"Obviously it is impossible that passengers on flight PS-752 are alive," the head of Red Crescent told Iranian news agency ISNA, adding that 170 passengers and crew had boarded the plane.
Initial reports had put the number of passengers and crew members aboard the ill-fated flight at 180.
The Ukraine International Airline Flight 752 was scheduled to take off at 5.12am Tehran time and was heading to Kiev, according to air tracking service FlightRadar24.
The actual departure time was delayed for almost an hour at 6.12am.
The plane that crashed was three years old and was a Boeing 737-NG, FlightRadar24 said.
The airline's call centre in Kiev said it had no information yet.
Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the company was aware of media reports of a plane crash in Iran and was gathering more information.
BBC correspondent, Ali Hashem, posted a tweet purportedly of the crash; the video in the tweet shows a plane in flames mid-flight before crashing into the ground in a fireball.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com