Dozens killed in Iran plane crash

27/11/2006| IslamWeb

Thirty-six people have been killed and two injured after an Iranian military aeroplane crashed at Tehran's airport.

State television said that the Antonov-74 belonged to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the military identified 30 of the dead as military personnel and six crew crew.

"It crashed at the end of the runway. at 7:30 local time," Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian civil aviation organisation, told the Fars news agency.

The director of the airport told the TV channel there were no survivors when the Antonov 74 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff.

"This plane was heading towards Shiraz and a few Revolutionary Guards personnel have been martyred in this accident."

Shiraz is a town to the south of Tehran.

An official at the airport said everyone on board had been killed but did not give a number.

Mehrabad international airport is used for civil and military  purposes. It is situated in a western district of the capital.

PHOTO CAPTION

Ambulances of Iran's red crescent arrive to Mehrabad airport after an Iranian military plane crashed early Monday, Nov. (AP)