An Iranian passenger plane has crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains killing at least 66 people on board, including an official of the airline operating the flight, reports Iranian media on Sunday.
The passenger plane ATR-72, which has a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, was reportedly flying from capital Tehran to the small town of Yasuj in Isfahan province with 60 passengers and six crew members.
The head of Iran’s emergency services, Pir Hossein Koolivand said to Fars news agency that “the plane has crashed in the Semirom area”, which is located in the mountainous southwestern region of Iran, around 480 kilometres (300 miles) south of the capital.
The passenger plane is owned by Aseman Airlines, a semi-private air carrier headquartered in Tehran, that specialises in flights to remote airfields across the country. It also flies internationally.
The airline’s official spokesperson told the state TV that the crash killed all 66 people on board.
Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesman for the national emergency services, told the semi-official ISNA news agency that a helicopter had been sent to the area.
“Given the fact that the area is mountainous, it is not possible to send ambulances,” he said.
The Iranian Red Crescent claimed that it has deployed to the area, which was quite foggy at the time of the crash.
After decades of International sanctions, Iran’s commercial passenger aircraft fleet has aged, with air accidents occurring regularly in recent years.
Following the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, Iran inked deals with both Airbus and Boeing to buy scores of passenger planes.