-TEHRAN
An Iranian commercial plane crashes today in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, killing all 66 people on board, state media reported.
The Aseman Airlines aircraft ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, went down near the remote mountain town of Semirom, some 390 miles south of the capital, Tehran, semi-official news agency reported.
Aseman Airlines spokesman Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai stated to the media officials that all 60 passengers, including one child, and six crew members have been killed. Due to foggy condition, rescue helicopters couldn’t reach the crash site in the Zagros Mountains.
According to the preliminary information the aircraft was reported to have technical fault before crash.
The aircraft was flying from Tehran to the southern Iranian city of Yasuj, some 485 miles south of the Iranian capital. Tabatabai said the plane crashed into Mount Dena, which is about 1,440-feet tall.
The Iranian Red Crescent said it has deployed to the area, which was quite foggy at the time of the crash. Authorities said they would be investigating.
Aseman Airlines is a semi-private air carrier headquartered in Tehran that specializes in flights to remote airfields across the country. It also flies internationally.
Under decades of international sanctions, Iran’s commercial passenger aircraft fleet has aged, with air accidents occurring regularly in recent years.
