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Military plane crashes in Tehran
A military plane has crashed while taking off from Mehrabad airport in the Iranian capital, Tehran, killing elite troops.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that 36 people on board the Russian-built Antonov-74 had been killed – 30 soldiers and six crew. Two soldiers survived the crash and were being treated in hospital, the statement said. The plane was due to fly to the southern city of Shiraz. So far officials have not indicated why the plane might have come down, soon after taking off at 0710 (0340GMT).
“It crashed at the end of the runway,” Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian civil aviation organisation was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. Earlier, reports had suggested all 38 people on board had been killed. The statement from the Revolutionary Guards said that the soldiers “were going to southern Iran on a mission”, but gave no further details. The Revolutionary Guards are believed to have wide influence in the presidency of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
There were reportedly several senior officers on board the plane. The BBC correspondent in Tehran says Iran has an appalling air safety record. There have been a number of disasters in recent years – this is the fourth plane crash in less than a year.
Almost a year ago, a military transport aircraft crashed, killing 128 people. That plane was attempting an emergency landing at Tehran airport when it hit a 10-storey building nearby.
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