An Iranian passenger plane with 66 people on board has crashed in a mountainous area of central Iran, state-run PressTV reported. The plane crashed into Mount Dena, near the Isfahan province, media reports quoted authorities as saying.
The ATR turboprop Iran Aseman Airlines aircraft took off from Tehran on Sunday morning but disappeared from the radar soon after. A spokesperson for Iran Aseman Airlines said that all 66 on board had died. However, the airline later retracted its statement, AFP reported.
The plane crashed just 185 km away from its destination Yasuj, Head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services Pir-Hossein Koulivand said.
Several helicopters have been deployed to search the crash site near Padena mountain, Iranian news agency ISNA said. Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesperson for the Iranian emergency organisation, said it was not possible to send ambulances to the mountainous area.
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