At least 18 dead after plane carrying 100 people crashes in northwest Iran

[News_Editor]

At least 18 dead after plane carrying 100 people crashes in northwest Iran

2011-01-10 02:46:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

URMIA, IRAN (BNO NEWS) -- An Iran Air passenger plane carrying 100 people crashed in northwestern Iran on Sunday evening, state-run media reported, killing at least 18 people.

The Fars news agency said the Boeing 727 aircraft went down at around 7.45 p.m. local time near Urmia, a city in northwestern Iran and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. It said 92 passengers, including two infants, and eight crew members were on board the plane.

A spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplanes was not immediately able to confirm that one of their planes had crashed in Iran, but said the company was "looking into" the report and promised to provide more details later.

Iranian media said the Iran Air plane had taken off from Mehr-Abad Airport in Tehran just after 6 p.m. local time and was en-route to Urmia International Airport. It crashed about 10 minutes before landing while visibility was less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometer) due to heavy snow.

The heavy snowfall was said to be heavily hampering rescue efforts, although the state-run Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) said at least 50 people had been rescued and were transported to area hospitals. "So far, 18 people have lost their lives in this incident," said Gholam-Reza Masoumi, the head of Iran's State Emergency Center.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-10