Thursday, July 16, 2009

Iranian Plane Crashes, All 168 Passengers Killed

TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian plane carrying 168 passengers crashed before midday in the suburbs of the city of Qazvin, some 75 miles northwest of Tehran, on route to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, police sources said.

"The plane has crashed in Farsian Eghbalieh village near Qazvin. All the 168 passengers on board have been killed," Qazvin's Police Commander Colonel Masoud Jafari Nassab told FNA. He reiterated that the relief and rescue squad deployed to the scene immediately. The Caspian Airlines Russian made Tupolev jet was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan when it crashed at 11:33 am local time (0803GMT), 16 minutes after take-off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. Reports said all the passengers and crews on board have burnt to ashes.

And unfortunately, members of Iran's junior judo team lost their lives after an Iranian passenger plane crashed near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran on Wednesday.
Photos and text from FAN.