Ukrainian Plane With At Least 170 Aboard Crashes Near Tehran

Technical issues were cited as the suspected cause of the crash.

Rescuers have been sent to an area near the airport where the Boeing 737-800 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines (UAI) crashed, Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, told state television.

“The plane is on fire but we have sent crews…and we may be able to save some passengers.” Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency services, told the television.

State media earlier put the number of passengers and crew on board close to 180.

According to UAI’s website, the airline’s Flight PS752 was scheduled to depart Tehran at 5:15 a.m. local time and fly directly to Kyiv’s Boryspil airport.

“We are following reports that a Ukrainian 737-800 has crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran,” a flight tracking website said after on social media.

UIA didn’t respond to two phone calls placed with the airlines.

The Boeing 737-800 is a very common single-aisle, twin-engine jetliner used for short to medium-range flights, according to reporting by AP.

Thousands of the planes are used by airlines around the world.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, Fars, and IRNA