Cargo plane crashes in Iran’s West Tehran with at least nine people on board

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Boeing 707 cargo plane with at least nine people on board crashed on Monday in West Tehran due to bad weather, Iranian news agencies reported.

The plane was coming from Kirgizstan’s Manas International Airport and was en route to Fath Airport in Iran’s Karaj, sources from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) told local media.

It was not immediately clear who owned the plane. A spokesperson from CAO said the aircraft belonged to Kirgizstan while a spokesperson from Kirgizstan’s Manas airport argued it belonged to Iran’s Payam Air.

“We don’t have clear information about the details of the crash,” the head of Iran’s emergency department, Pirhossein Kolivand, told Iranian Fars news.

Iranian local media reported conflicting casualty numbers from the crash, ranging from 9 to 15 people.

Photos posted on social media networks show the cargo plane hit the side of Fath airport and damaged houses in a nearby town. They also showed smoke rising from the site of the crash.

Fars news said the plane crash-landed after “mistaking the airport with another airfield because of the bad weather,” causing low visibility for the pilots.

Editing by Nadia Riva