An Iranian carrier named Aseman Airlines on Sunday, February 18, said 66 people on board one of its passenger planes died after it crashed into the Zagros mountains in central Iran. However, reports later in the day said that the airline had withdrawn its earlier statement.
Iran's Aseman Airlines says plane crash in southern Iran has killed all 66 people on board, reports The Associated Press.
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2018
#UPDATE Iran's #AsemanAirlines retracts statement that all 66 people aboard a passenger plane died after it crashed in the Zagros mountains, as rescue teams struggle to find wreckage pic.twitter.com/HPsSjBF7Cd
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 18, 2018
- Twitterati has expressed condolences for the deceased:
Condolences to the victims of the plane crash in Iran.
— @samratrohan (@samratrohan_kkr) February 18, 2018
"An Iranian passenger plane on a domestic flight crashed into the country's Zagros mountains on Sunday killing all 66 people on board, officials said"
.
Passenger plane from Iran’s Aseman Airlines crashes near Semirom, #Isfahan #Iran
— HinA?? (@HinaKharal) February 18, 2018
All 50-60 passengers died in plane crash.
May Allah rest their souls in peace. Ameen
- A section of the Twitter has also condemned the airlines for flying old aircraft.
The #AsemanAirlines aircraft which crashed in #Iran today was an ATR-72, more than two decades old.
— TANUJ GARG (@tanuj_garg) February 18, 2018
The #PIA ATR-42 plane which crashed near Abbottabad over a year back was also ancient.
Airlines need to urgently retire ageing fleet in the interest of passenger safety.
Under decades of international sanctions, Iran's commercial passenger aircraft fleet has aged, with air accidents occurring regularly in recent years.
— Agratha (@Agratha) February 18, 2018
Today’s sad news of passenger plane crash in Iran (ATR 72) has caused many citizens to call on USA to stop blocking commercial airline aircraft deals — as #Iran’s ageing aviation fleet continues to deteriorate without much-needed new aircraft / spare parts. pic.twitter.com/gDN9QLIBIu
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) February 18, 2018
- The PR offcial of the airlines said that the plane had crashed into Mount Dena. Mt. Dena is a sub-range mountain within the Zagros Mountains, which is about 440-meters (1,440-feet) tall.
- Aseman Airlines Public Relations (PR) director Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai told the media that all passengers, including a child and the crew members on the flight died.
"After searches in the area, unfortunately we were informed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, all our dear ones lost their lives in this incident," said Tabatabai. -
Smoke and fire seen at the site where a plane crashed in the mountainous area of Punta Islita, in the province of Guanacaste, in Costa Rica December 31, 2017, in the picture obtained from social media. [Representational image]Reuters Reports by the Iranian media have said the flight, identified as an Iran Aseman Flight 3704, was on its way from Tehran to the city of Yasuj in southwestern Iran when the crash took place.
"The plane crashed near the town of Semirom," news agency ISNA quoted emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi as saying.
A commercial airplane carrying 66 people has crashed in southern Iran, reports The Associated Press.
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2018
- Semirom is the capital city of Semirom County in Isfahan Province of Iran.
"An ATR aircraft of Aseman Airlines with 60 passengers and about six crew disappeared from radar this morning," Aladin Borujerdi, head of parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, told the semi-official ISNA news agency.
- Borujerdi also added that residents claim that a crash had taken place in the mountains.
- Meanwhile, Khaledi has told the news agencies that a helicopter has been sent to the area.
"Given the fact that the area is mountainous, it is not possible to send ambulances," he added.
