The Iranian military has found the aircraft that crashed into mountains two days ago with 65 people on board, Reuters reported. Two helicopters sent by the military finally helped spot the wreckage on Tuesday morning, Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ramezan Sharif told state TV.
“The plane had hit top of the mountain before crashing 30 metres further down,” he was quoted as saying. No one on board is expected to have survived. Freezing temperatures and mountainous terrain of southwest Iran had hampered the search and rescue efforts.
The Aseman Airlines aircraft had taken off from Tehran on Sunday morning but disappeared from the radar soon after. It crashed just 185 km away from its destination Yasuj.
The main parts of the aircraft have been broken into pieces and only a part bearing the airlines logo is visible, the captain of the helicopter that found the wreckage told Press TV.
Helicopters are unable to land in the mountainous terrain, and the work to find bodies will have to be carried out on foot, an emergency service official said.
More than 100 people demonstrated outside a local government office in Dena Kooh county on Monday, demanding the resignation of officials because of the delay in finding the wreckage.
The aircraft that crashed, an Aseman Airlines flight, was 24 years old. Iran often blames sanctions by the United States for not being able to import new aircraft or spare parts, according to Reuters. Though the 2015 nuclear deal lifted some of those sanctions, many older planes are still in service.
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