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A Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 has crashed due to technical problems after take-off from the Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, killing all 170 people on board, Iran's state television says.
Key points:
- Rescuers are attempting to recover the bodies from the crash site
- Air tracking service FlightRadar24 says the plane that crashed was Flight PS 752
- The crash comes hours after Iran launched a missile attack targeting two bases in Iraq housing US forces
The aircraft, which belonged to Ukraine International Airlines, crashed near the airport and burst into flames.
An investigation team was at the site of the crash in the south-western outskirts of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said.
"After taking off from Imam Khomeini international airport it crashed between Parand and Shahriar," Mr Jafarzadeh said.
According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane that crashed was Flight PS 752, and it was flying to Kiev.
Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran's emergency services, said rescuers were trying to recover the bodies from the crash site.
But he later told state television: "The fire is so heavy that we cannot [do] any rescue … we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site."
Iranian state TV earlier said there were 180 passengers and crew aboard. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled.
The crash came hours after Iran launched a missile attack targeting two bases in Iraq housing US forces in retaliation for the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani last week.
Flight data from the airport showed a Ukrainian 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines took off on Wednesday morning (local time).
The plane stopped sending data almost immediately afterward, according to website FlightRadar24.
A photo later published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency showed rescue officials in a field, with what appeared to be pieces of the aircraft laying nearby.
Ukraine International Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boeing issued a brief statement on Twitter acknowledging the crash.
Boeing, like other airline manufacturers, typically assists in crash investigations.
However, that effort in this case could be affected by the US sanctions campaign in place on Iran since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018.
The Boeing 737-800 is a very common single-aisle, twin-engine jetliner used for short to medium-range flights.
Thousands of the planes are used by airlines around the world.
Introduced in the late 1990s, it is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
A number of Boeing 737-800 aircraft have been involved in deadly accidents over the years.
In March 2016, a Flydubai 737-800 from Dubai crashed while trying to land at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia, killing 62 people onboard.
Another 737-800 flight from Dubai, operated by Air India Express, crashed in May 2010 while trying to land in Mangalore, India, killing more than 150 onboard.
Reuters/AP
Topics: air-and-space, iran-islamic-republic-of, ukraine
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