A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed yesterday just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital’s main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board.
The crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing US troops, but both Ukrainian and Iranian officials said that they suspected a mechanical issue brought down the Boeing 737-800.
The plane carried 167 passengers and nine crew members from different nations.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko said that there were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians on board — the Ukrainian nationals included two passengers and the nine crew. There were also 10 Swedish, four Afghan, three German and three British passengers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
His office said that he had cut a visit to Oman short and was returning to Kyiv because of the crash.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk confirmed the casualty toll.
Ukraine International Airlines said that it had indefinitely suspended flights to Tehran after the crash.
“It was one of the best planes we had, with an amazing, reliable crew,” company president Yevhen Dykhne said at a news briefing following the crash.
Zelenskiy ordered a sweeping inspection of all civil planes in the nation, “no matter the conclusions about the crash in Iran.”
The plane had been delayed from taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport by almost an hour. It took off to the west, but never made it above 2,400m, data from flight-tracking Web site FlightRadar24 showed.
It appeared that a fire struck one of the engines and the pilot then lost control of the plane, sending it crashing to the ground, Iranian Ministry of Roads and Transport spokesman Qassem Biniaz was quoted as saying by Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iranian air crash investigation committee head Hassan Razaeifar said that it appeared the pilot could not communicate with air traffic controllers in Tehran in the final moments of the flight. He did not elaborate.
Ukrainian authorities have offered to help with the investigation of the crash.
“We’re preparing a group of specialists in order to help with the search operation and the investigation of the cause of the crash,” Honcharuk said.
The plane, fully loaded with fuel for its 2,300km flight, slammed into farmland near the town of Shahedshahr on the outskirts of Tehran.
Videos taken immediately after the crash showed blazes lighting up the darkened fields before dawn.
Local resident Din Mohammad Qassemi said that he had been watching the news about the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Iraq when he heard the crash.
“I heard a massive explosion and all the houses started to shake. There was fire everywhere,” he said. “At first I thought [the Americans] have hit here with missiles and went in the basement as a shelter. After a while, I went out and saw a plane has crashed over there. Body parts were lying around everywhere.”
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