IRAN | Plane crashes after takeoff, killing 39 


Iranian Revolutionary Guards and police officers inspect the site of a passenger plane crash near the capital Tehran

A regional passenger plane assembled in Iran crashed yesterday while taking off from the capital, killing 39 and injuring another nine onboard, according to a senior transportation official and state media.
The IrAn-140 operated by domestic carrier Sepahan Air crashed in a residential area near Tehran’s Mehrabad airport. State TV said the plane’s tail struck the cables of an electricity tower before it hit the ground and burst into flames. The official IRNA news agency said the plane suffered an engine failure before it went down.
Deputy Minister of Transportation Ahmad Majidi provided the casualty figures in an appearance on state TV. The channel earlier had reported that all 48 people onboard had died.
The crash happened shortly after the plane took off at 9:20 a.m. local time (0450 GMT), bound for the town of Tabas in eastern Iran.
Eyewitness Hassan Molla said he heard a roaring sound as the plane came in low overhead, one wing tilting.
“There was no smoke or anything. It was absolutely sound and in good condition” before the crash and what appeared to be multiple explosions, he said.
State TV said the bodies of some of the victims were so badly burned that they could not be identified. They will be handed over to relatives after DNA tests are carried out to determine their identities, it said. AP