Iran Raises Plane Crash Death Toll Estimate to 77, Retrieves Black Boxes
Iran Raises Plane Crash Death Toll to 77
-/AFP/Getty Images
The Boeing 727 plane was en route from Tehran to the northern city of Orumiyeh and was unable to land due to “unsuitable weather and bad vision,” Behbahani said.
The Boeing 727 plane was en route from Tehran to the northern city of Orumiyeh and was unable to land due to “unsuitable weather and bad vision,” Behbahani said. Photographer: -/AFP/Getty Images
Iranian officials raised the death toll from the crash of an Iran Air plane to 77, as authorities discovered the black boxes from the aircraft and began an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Of the 105 people on board the Boeing Co. 727 passenger jet, the bodies of 54 of had been identified, Ahmad Majidi, roads and transportation deputy minister for crisis management, said in a phone interview in Tehran.
The plane was en route from Tehran to the northern city of Orumiyeh and was unable to land due to “unsuitable weather and bad vision,” Road and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani, told state television earlier today, speaking from the site of the accident. The aircraft missed an initial landing attempt and was circling when it disappeared from the radar screens of Orumiyeh approach tower at about 7:45 p.m. local time, the state-run Fars news agency said.
Iran’s American-built aircraft were purchased before Iran’s 1979 revolution, when the two countries cut off relations. Iranian airlines, including the flagship carrier, Iran Air, have struggled to keep those planes operating amid sanctions that restrict the purchase of new planes and spare parts from suppliers such as Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS.
Majidi said that Iran hadn’t asked for Boeing Co.’s assistance in the investigation. Boeing’s Middle East regional office in Dubai didn’t immediately respond to phone calls or questions sent by e-mail.
Investigation Begins
The plane broke into pieces after the impact and did not explode, Fars said. Both black boxes had been found and were being transferred to the Iranian capital to be analyzed, Majidi said. Eleven Iranian teams of experts have also been sent to the scene of the crash to investigate, he said.
The aircraft was 37 years old and had been serviced “in recent months,” Majidi said. Its next overhaul was due in six years’ time in accordance with a permit issued by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, he said.
Iran is under four rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program. The U.S. intensified in July its punitive measures against the country, targeting foreign suppliers of aviation fuel and other refined oil products and blocking access to the U.S. financial system for banks doing business with the country.
The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop atomic weapons under cover of its nuclear program. Iran rejects the charge and says it needs nuclear technology for civilian purposes and to secure energy for its growing population.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maher Chmaytelli at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net
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