People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran on January 8, 2020. - All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, Iranian state media reported. State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines. (Photo by ROHHOLLAH VADATI / ISNA / AFP)
FeaturedTop Story

Hours after Iran’s retaliatory strikes, Ukrainian airline crashes near Tehran airport, killing 176 on board

602

 

Hours after Iran fired some missiles at U.S. embassy in Iraq, a Ukrainian airliner with 176 passengers and crew onboard has crashed near Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport early on Wednesday.
Iran’s state television said all those on board, majority of whom are Iranians, were killed.

The Boeing 737-800 jet crashed near Parand, a suburb southwest of capital Tehran shortly after the takeoff.

The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport when a fire struck one of its engines, said Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation Ministry.

The pilot of the aircraft lost control of the plane, sending it crashing into the ground, Biniaz said, according to reports.


Images posted on social media also indicated that there were no survivors. Earlier reports said there were 180 on board the plane.

Associated Press journalists who reached the crash site saw a wide field of field of debris scattered across farmland.

The dead lay among shattered pieces of the aircraft. Rescuers in masks shouted over the noise of hovering helicopters as they worked.
According to Flighradar24 flight tracker, the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 was scheduled to take off at 5:15am Tehran time (01:45 GMT) for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

However, the departure was delayed by almost an hour as it took off at 6:12am (02:42 GMT).

A video posted by Iran’s ISNA news agency showed a faint glow of light flickering in the dark shortly before a huge fireball was seen.

Photos posted online by ISNA also showed wreckage of the plane scattered all over the ground, as emergency personnel inspected the area.


“An investigation team from the national aviation department was dispatched to the location after the news was announced.

“We will give more reports in upcoming bulletins,” Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman of the Iranian Aviation Organisation told reporters in Tehran.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy extended his condolences to the families of the victims. The country’s Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk confirmed the casualty toll.

Staff at the Boryspil airport in Kyiv, where the plane was headed, told The Associated Press that passengers on this flight are usually Iranian students coming back to Ukraine after winter holidays.


In a statement, Boeing said it was “aware of the media reports” of the incident, and that it was “gathering more information”.

The incident comes just hours after Iran launched a retaliatory attack on two US military bases in Iraq.

The Boeing 737-800 is a common single-aisle, twin-engine jet used for short to medium-range flights. Thousands of these planes are used by airlines around the world.

Introduced in the late 1990s, it is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following two deadly crashes.


A number of 737-800 aircraft have been involved in deadly accidents over the years.

In March 2016, a FlyDubai 737-800 from Dubai crashed while trying to land at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia, killing 62 people on board.

Another 737-800 flight from Dubai, operated by Air India Express, crashed in May 2010 while trying to land in Mangalore, India, killing more than 150 on board.

In recent years, Iran has seen several plane crashes.


In early 2019, a Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed in bad weather west of the Iranian capital, killing 15 out of the 16 passengers.

In February 2018, an Iranian passenger plane with 65 people on board crashed during a flight from Tehran to Yasuj.

In 2014, an Antonov-140 type plane with 48 people on board crashed shortly after the takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, killing 39 people.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Port Harcourt petrol tanker fire: Bereaved families to get govt. succour – Gov. Fubara

With about 70 automobiles consumed and five fatalities recorded in a petrol...

Jim Ovia is FG’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund’s board chair

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Jim Ovia, a...

Tinubu to Dutch PM: Nigeria’s lithium deposits can power world’s clean energy future

President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria’s high-grade lithium deposits are a catalyst for...

Breaking: Fire at Lagos airport, flights diverted

An early Thursday morning fire has been reported at the E54 Bridge...

Rainstorm damages Niger prison as 118 inmates escape

No fewer than 118 inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre in...

Bello withdrew $720,000 from state account for his children’s school fees – EFCC Chair Olukoyede

Ex-governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, withdrew $720,000 from the state...

Just in: EFCC arrests Ex-Aviation Minister Sirika over alleged N8bln fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested former Minister of Aviation,...

Breaking: Dana airline crash lands in Lagos 

A Dana airline has crash-landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja....

Regional counter-terrorism centre for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, a must – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu made a case on Monday for the establishment of...

Fleeing Binance executive arrested in Kenya, faces extraction to Nigeria this week

Kenyan police authorities have reportedly apprehended Mr. Nadeem Anjarwalla, an executive associated...

Tinubu opens African Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja on April 22

President Bola Tinubu will open the African Counter-Terrorism Summit on Monday, April...

Breaking: Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya breaks world record for longest chess marathon

The Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya, has set a new Guinness World...

Update: Nigeria Immigration Service has put former Gov. Yahaya Bello on the watchlist

More woes for the former Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, as...

Tinubu directs overhaul of nation’s tiers of education system

President Bola Tinubu has approved the comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s educational system...

EFCC operatives allegedly barricade ex-Kogi Gov. Yahaya Bello’s Abuja residence

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have allegedly barricaded...

Cubana Chief Priest arraigned in Lagos, gets N10m bail after pleading not guilty

Businessman and socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, was...

Pres. Tinubu launches National Single Window project, to generate annual $2.7bln revenue

“This initiative will link our ports, government agencies and key stakeholders, creating...

FG has rescued over 1,000 abductees without ransom payment — NSA Ribadu

The National Security Adviser, retired AIG Nuhu Ribadu, says the Federal Government...

Breaking: FG kicks start disbursement of N200bln palliative business loans

President Bola Tinubu administration’s promise to give the needed fillip to entrepreneurial...

Senate President to Police I-G: Rid Police Force of corrupt officers

“As we honour the good officers, let us weed out the bad...