Iranian plane carrying 66 people, crashes near its destination

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – An Iranian commercial plane crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, killing all 66 people on board, state-run agency reported on Sunday.

The Iranian plane of Aseman Airline ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, crashed in southern Isfahan province near its destination in Yasuj city.

The plane carried 60 passengers, including one child and six crew members, were all killed, according to Aseman Airlines spokesman Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai.

Rescue helicopters were unable to reach the crash site in the Zagros Mountains due to foggy condition, a state agency reported. The plane crashed into Mount Dena, which is about 440-meters (1,440-feet) tall, according to Tabatabai.

Aseman Airlines is a semi-private air carrier based in Tehran that specializes in flights to remote airfields across Iran. It also has international flights.

Authorities have said that they will investigate the incident. Iranian Red Crescent stated that they had deployed their teams in the site of the plane crash.

Falling under the decades of international embargos, Iran’s commercial passenger aircraft fleet has aged, with air accidents taking place often over the past years.

Following the landmark nuclear deal with world powers signed in 2015, Iran signed an agreement with Airbus and Boeing to buy scores of passenger planes.