180 passengers perish in plane crash in Iran

 

• 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 3 Germans, Britons aboard

A Ukrainian Boeing-737 plane with 180 people onboard crashed early morning Wednesday in Iran after it went down near an airport in the capital, Tehran, eight minutes after take-off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini airport.

According to Fars state news agency, the aircraft belongs to Ukraine International Airlines and was reportedly en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that the passengers and crew members in the Boeing 737 have all died.

The president confirmed this in a statement on his official Facebook page.

He said: “According to preliminary information, all passengers and crew members had died.

“Our embassy is working to clarify information on the circumstances of the tragedy and the list of deceased passengers.

“My sincere condolences to families and loved ones of all passengers and crew members.”

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The crash is suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues.

An investigation team is currently at the site in southwestern outskirts of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said.

The plane was carrying 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians, Ukraine Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has said.

Prystaiko wrote on Twitter that the Boeing 737 plane was also carrying 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian airline, has said that the crashed Boeing was new and was checked two days ago.

“The plane was manufactured in 2016, it was received by the airline directly from the (Boeing) factory.

“The plane underwent its last planned technical maintenance on January 6, 2020,” Ukraine International Airlines said in a statement.

Ukraine International Airlines is expected to release the full list of the passengers anytime soon.