176 perish as Ukrainian plane crashes in Tehran city
By People Daily, January 9, 2020Tehran, Wednesday
A Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran early Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, mainly Iranians and Canadians.
Search-and-rescue teams were combing through the smoking wreckage of the Boeing 737 flight from Tehran to Kiev, but officials said there was no hope of finding anyone alive.
The vast majority of the passengers on the Ukraine International Airlines flight were non-Ukrainians, including 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians, officials said.
The crash occurred with tensions high in the Middle East and shortly after Tehran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing US troops.
But there was no immediate indication of foul play and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against “speculating” on the cause of the disaster.
A series of airlines announced on Wednesday that they were avoiding both Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
Air France and KLM said they would use alternative routes while Lufthansa said it was also cancelling its daily flight to Tehran. Qantas, Air India, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines were among other airlines taking action.
The US aviation authority said it had banned US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf. The Ukraine International also suspended its services to and from Tehran until further notice.
Plane wreck
Footage released by Iranian state media showed a field on fire and the smouldering wreck of the plane. Rescue workers carried body bags and the passengers’ personal items.
UIA, the ex-Soviet country’s privately owned flagship carrier, said flight PS752 took off from Tehran airport at 6.10am and disappeared from radars just two minutes later. It slammed into farmland at Khalaj Abad, about 45 kilometres northwest of the airport.
Besides Iranians and Canadians, the passengers included 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons, Ukraine’s foreign minister said. Eleven Ukrainians—including the nine crew—were also on board.
UIA released a list of the names and birth years of passengers. At least 25 were under the age of 18. Iran’s news agency ISNA said 13 of the passengers were students from Tehran’s Sharif University, the most prestigious in the country.
Boeing, which has been roiled by a nine-month crisis after 737 MAX was grounded, tweeted on Wednesday: “We are in contact with our airline customer and stand by them in this difficult time. We are ready to assist in any way needed.” -AFP