Plane crashes in Iran, 65 people on board feared dead

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Sixty-five passengers and crew on an Aseman Airlines flight were feared dead after the plane crashed into Dena mountain near Semirom in Iran's Isfahan Province on Sunday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The plane was carrying six crew members and 59 passengers, one fewer than earlier reported as one passenger was said to have missed the flight. One child was among those on board.

The airline initially said all passengers and crew had been killed, but later said their deaths could not be confirmed.

"Given the hard (geographical) situation of the region, we have not been yet able to access the crash site and therefore, the death of all passengers of the plane cannot be confirmed precisely and firmly yet," Aseman Airlines spokesman Mohammad Taqi Tabatabayee was quoted by the local Fars News Agency as saying.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency said search and rescue operations were impeded by bad weather and emergency crew were trying to get to the crash site by land.

(The above video was aired at 19:00 BJT on Sunday)

The ATR-made plane, built in 1993, was reported to have disappeared from radar 50 minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital Tehran at 05:00 local time (01:30 GMT).

It was en route to Iran's southwestern city of Yasuj.

The cause of the crash remains unclear. But Mehr News Agency, quoting witnesses, reported that the plane appeared to be trying to make an emergency landing on a pasture when it crashed.

Condolences offered

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his condolences following the accident and urged the Minister of Roads and Urban Development to open an investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday also offered his condolences over the crash in a speech to the Munich Security Conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a message of condolences to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, according to the Kremlin.

Iran has an aging aircraft fleet because of international sanctions against its nuclear program and lifting sanctions on aviation purchases was a key clause in the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in 2015.

In 2014, a Sepahan Airlines plane carrying 40 people crashed after take-off from Tehran due to engine failure, killing 39 people.

(With input from AFP)

(Head image via Iran Aseman Airlines Twitter)

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