A tragic incident took place nearby Tehran’s international airport, where a Ukraine International Airlines flight to the Ukrainian capital Kiev gets crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s international airport. All 176 people on board were killed, Iran’s Press TV reported.
Ukraine International Airlines plane crashes in Iran
The Boeing 737 jet took off early Wednesday morning with total of 167 passengers along with nine crew members on board, Press TV reported, quoting Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at Imam Khomeini Airport in the Iranian capital.
Initial reports from Iranian state media had said total of 180 people were on board Flight PS752.
Out of which Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians, who died in the crash, a per to a tweet from Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko.
Among the victims, there were also 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals, he said.
The crash took place in the region just hours after Iran launched a missile attack on US bases in Iraq. This then sparked speculation that the jet might possibly have been shot down accidentally, with Middle East tensions spiralling after general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian embassy in Tehran reported that the crash had been caused due to an engine failure in spite of the terrorism or a missile attack.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran replaced its preceding statement stating terrorism or rocket attacks had been ruled out as causes of the plane crash.
“Information on the causes of the plane crash is being clarified by the commission,” it said.
Iranian officials also stated that the pilot had lost control of the Boeing jet after a fire struck one of the engines of the plane, but at the same time said the crew had not reported an emergency and did not say what caused the fire.
A Boeing spokesperson told CNN they are “aware of the media reports out of Iran and we are gathering more information.”
The crash takes place just few days in advance the company’s new CEO David Calhoun is going to formally take the job. Calhoun replaces Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted in the month of December after Boeing’s tragic year.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post that he would cancel the rest of his present trip to Oman and would return to Kiev because of the crash. “My sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of all passengers and crew members,” Zelensky said.
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