A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people on board crashed after takeoff in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, killing all on board, according to Iranian state television and Ukrainian officials.
Iran (IMNA) - Iranian State TV reported that the crash was suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues, without elaborating. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, said it was too early to determine the causes.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that he had received reports of the crash that indicated all passengers and crew died in the crash. He extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
According to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko, 82 people on board were Iranian, 63 Canadian, and 11 Ukrainian, including nine crew members. Ten were from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, three from Germany and three from the United Kingdom.
"We express our condolences," he said. "The Ukrainian government continues its investigation."
The plane's operator, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), confirmed the incident, saying 167 people and nine crew members were on board a Boeing 737 when it took off from Tehran International Airport en route to Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, at 6:10 a.m. local time (9:40 p.m. ET). It disappeared from the radars a few minutes after departure.
"The airline expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the air crash and will do everything possible to support the relatives of the victims," a Facebook statement from UIA said.
The airline said it's suspending its flights to Tehran until further notice and is in close cooperation with the aviation authorities, "taking all measures" to determine the cause of the crash.
Iran's Mehr news agency said the plane crashed "due to technical problems after takeoff." It quoted the head of the Ministry of Road communications and information center as saying that the plane crashed after its engine caught fire.
Ukrainian embassy in Iran originally said that the crash was likely caused by an engine problem. It also ruled out terrorism and rocket attack as possible causes. However, it later removed that information from its website and said the cause of the crash was being determined.
UIA's vice president of operations, Igor Sosnovsky, said in a press conference earlier Wednesday the plane's captain had more than 11,000 hours of flight experience, almost all of it on a Boeing 737.
The airline said the aircraft was built in 2016 and delivered directly to them from the manufacturer. The last scheduled maintenance took place on Monday, it added.
"An investigation will be conducted with the involvement of the aviation authorities of Ukraine, Iran, representatives of the Boeing manufacturer, the airline, and the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine," UIA said.
Source: nbcnews
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