77 die in Iran plane crash
Jan. 10: At least 77 people were killed in Sunday’s passenger plane crash in northwestern Iran, IRNA, the official news agency, reported on Monday. The Iran Air Boeing 727 crashed while attempting to land in bad weather with 106 on board, officials said. At least eight of the injured were in a critical condition.
“So far, 52 out of 77 victims have been identified and among the fatalities there were 36 men and 16 women,” IRNA quoted deputy head of Azarbayjan-e Gharbi coroner’s office, Mr Hamid Davoudabadi, as saying. Mr Ahmad Majidi, head of the crisis management office at the transport ministry, told ISNA news agency that the flight had taken off from Tehran in good visibility.
By the time the plane arrived in the city of Urumiyeh, in a mountainous area near the border with Turkey, there was zero visibility due to snow and fog, state TV said. Mr Hossein Haqiqi, a survivor, said the pilot announced an emergency landing. “Then, exactly like in the movies, the plane hit the ground and the lights went out. I fainted and was not conscious of anything,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
The President, Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ordered an investigation into the crash.
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