VIDEO: Iranian fighter jet crashes, fate of crew unknown

According to reports, the fighter jet was a Soviet-made MiG-29 that was on a test flight.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iranian fighter jet crashed in the country’s northwestern Ardabil province on Wednesday with the fate of the crew and whereabouts of the plane unknown, state media reported.

Sources in the area told Iranian media that the plane had fallen around 9 a.m. local time after it flew over a dormant volcano on Mount Sabalan between the villages of Sardabe and Shabil.

According to reports, the fighter jet was a Soviet-made MiG-29 that was on a test flight.

“Following the crash of a military plane in Ardabil, helicopter and rescue groups have been sent to the region,” Iran’s Red Crescent said in a statement.

Footage the Red Crescent posted to social media showed smoke billowing from the top of the mountain where the crash allegedly took place.

Mohammed Gharibani, director-general of Ardabil province’s crisis management center, told local media that search operations have not been possible due to “the area’s height and severe weather conditions.”

No wreckage or crew has been found as of publishing this report.