A plane carrying 176 people crashed in Iran early Wednesday morning shortly after take off, killing all on board.
“The airline expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the air crash and will do everything possible to support the relatives of the victims,” the airline said in the statement. “With immediate effect, UIA has decided to suspend its flights to Tehran until further notice.”
According toCNN, atweetfrom Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said that 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals died in the crash.
“My sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of all passengers and crew members,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky added in a Facebook post, according to CNN.
Ukraine plane crash.Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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The cause of the crash remains unclear.The Washington Postreported that Iranian officials said the plane likely crashed due to mechanical difficulties, but the outlet also reported that the Ukrainian embassy in Iran later took down a statement concurring with that assessment and ruling out terrorism.
The embassy then issued a statement that said “any statements about the causes of the accident before the decision of the commission are not official,” according to thePost.
“[An] investigation will be conducted with the involvement of the aviation authorities of Ukraine, Iran, representatives of the Boeing manufacturer, the airline, and the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine,” Ukraine International Airlines said. “The airline will inform about the progress of the investigation and the causes of the tragic event as soon as they are identified.”
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The plane involved in Wednesday’s crash was a Boeing 737-800 jet, not the Boeing 737 MAX plane that waswas groundedin March 2019 after two fatal crashes in less than five months. According to Ukraine International Airlines, the aircraft involved in the crash was built in 2016 and its last scheduled maintenance took place on Monday.
The crash in Iran also came hours after the countrylaunched missiles at two military basesin Iraq that house U.S. troops.
source: people.com
