TEHRAN 8 Jan (ANA) - A Ukrainian airliner with 176 passengers and crew on board has crashed near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. Iran's state television said all those on board, most of whom were Iranians, were killed.

 

According to Iranian media, the Boeing 737-800 jet crashed early on Wednesday near Parand, a suburb southwest of the capital Tehran, shortly after takeoff.

 

The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport when a fire struck one of its engines, said Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry.

 

The pilot then lost control of the plane, sending it crashing into the ground, Biniaz said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

 

Images posted on social media also indicated that there were no survivors. Earlier reports had said there were 180 people on board.

 

Journalists from The Associated Press news agency who visited the site saw debris scattered across farmlands and human remains lying among shattered pieces of the aircraft. Rescuers in masks shouted over the noise of hovering helicopters as they worked.(ANA)

FA/ANA/8 January 2020-------