38 Killed In Iran Plane Crash

An Iranian passenger plane has crashed
moments after takeoff from Tehran, killing
at least 38 on board and narrowly
avoiding many more deaths when it
plummeted near a busy market.
The plane was headed to the eastern city
of Tabas, the IRNA and Fars news agencies
said, when it crashed at 9.18am local
time on Sunday, after leaving Mehrabad
airport.
It triggered a fireball when it smashed
into the capital’s Azadi neighbourhood,
close to where hundreds of military
families live, and only a few hundred
metres from a row of shops.
Iran’s deputy transport minister, Ahmad
Majidi, said the Antonov An-140
turboprop plane had 40 passengers,
including six children, and eight crew on
board, and he put the death toll at 38.
A fire official initially said all on board
had been killed but Fars later reported 37
bodies were sent to the morgue and IRNA
said nine people were hospitalised, two of
them critically injured.
The aircraft was operated by Sepahan
Airlines and a tailfin bearing the
company’s dolphin logo could be seen
sticking out of the road as security forces
cordoned off the crash site where
firefighters had doused the flames.
Black smoke billowed from the mass of
burnt out twisted metal, with officials
saying the plane hit a wall and trees.
“The scene was terrible, with the back of
the plane in the middle of the street,” one
eyewitness said.
“But we were lucky because there was a
market 500 metres away and a lot of
people were there.”
Another eyewitness told state television: “I
was on my motorbike and I heard
something behind me. I turned round and
it was a plane, so I got on to the ground
because it was so close.
“With other people, we ran to try and save
the passengers but there were two or
three loud explosions and a huge fire.”
Mehrabad airport is near central Tehran
and it is by far the country’s busiest
domestic hub, serving routes to all major
Iranian cities.
The Isna news agency reported that the
plane in Sunday’s crash had been
assembled under license by an Iranian
company in Esfahan, a city 450 kilometres
south of Tehran.
Iran has suffered a series of aeroplane
crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and
poor maintenance. Many of the Boeing
aircraft in IranAir’s fleet were bought
before the country’s 1979 Islamic
Revolution, which disrupted ties with the
US and Europe.

source ~informationng