Iran: 66 passengers feared dead as Aseman Airlines plane crashes in mountains

NEW DELHI: A passenger plane flying from Tehran with 66 people on board crashed in a mountainous area in central Iran. An Aseman Airlines ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, went down near its destination in the southern Iranian city of Yasuj, some 780 kilometers south of the Iranian capital, Tehran. The plane crashed due to bad weather into the Dena Mountain near the town of Semirom. Due to foggy condition, rescue helicopters couldn't reach the crash site in the Zagros Mountains, state TV reported. Aseman Airlines is a semi-private air carrier headquartered in Tehran that specialises in flights to remote airfields across the country. It also flies internationally. "After searches in the area, unfortunately, we were informed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, all our dear ones lost their lives in this incident," airline spokesman Mohammad Tabatabai said. But he later retracted his statement, telling the ISNA news agency: "We still have no access to the spot of the crash and therefore we cannot accurately and definitely confirm the death of all passengers." There were conflicting reports on the location of the crash site as emergency teams battled severe weather. "The rescue and relief teams were sent to the possible area of the crash... but the helicopter could not continue its path due to snow and blizzard," Jalal Pooranfar, regional head for Iran's emergency services, told the ISNA news agency. He said teams were being sent by land. The Relief and Rescue Organisation of Iran's Red Crescent said it had also sent 12 teams to the region.