STOP THIS F**KING MADNESS NOW MR. PRESIDENT!
82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and three Britons on flight PS752, along with 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans and four Germans died when their Ukranian 737 was shot down after departing the Tehran Airport.
RIP to the victims and condolences to the families.
Please don't sue Boeing!
Iran claims Boeing crash that claimed 177 lives hours after missile attack on US base was caused by engine fire but REFUSES to hand over jet's black box as images show fuselage peppered with holes
Iran has blamed a technical failure for a plane crash which killed 177 people near Tehran today, just hours after the Islamic republic launched missile strikes on US bases in retaliation for the death of Qassem Soleimani.
The Boeing 737 jet came down just minutes after take-off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran early this morning, sparking fresh alarm amid spiralling tensions in the Middle East.
Three Britons and 63 Canadians were among the 177 passengers and crew on board the Ukrainian International Airlines flight to Kyiv.
Mystery surrounded the cause of the crash this morning after images emerged showing the wreckage of the Boeing fuselage peppered with holes at the crash site.
Iran is blaming 'technical difficulties' and says the pilot lost control after a fire struck one of the plane's engines, but said the crew had not reported an emergency and will not hand the black boxes over to Boeing or the US.
The Ukrainian embassy in Tehran initially stated that the crash had been caused by an engine failure rather than terrorism or a missile attack, but later deleted that claim.
Video footage appeared to show the plane already burning in the night sky before it crashed, sparking speculation that it had been accidentally shot down or collided with a military drone.
The Boeing plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, with 'one of our best crews' manning the aircraft, a Ukrainian airline official said.
The French jet engine manufacturer CFM said any speculation about a technical failure was 'premature'.
A series of airlines have announced they will stop flying over Iranian airspace with the cause of the crash yet to be fully established.
There were no survivors among the 168 passengers and nine crew, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry later revealed there were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and three Britons on flight PS752, along with 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans and four Germans.
Canada is home to a large Iranian diaspora community and UIA offers discount flights between Tehran and Toronto, with a transit in Kiev.
According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24, the Boeing 737-800 reached an altitude of 7,925ft before tracking of the flight suddenly ended after three minutes.
The plane had been delayed from taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran by almost an hour.
The Boeing jet was new and had been checked two days ago, the Ukrainian airline said.
'The plane was in working order,' UIA company president Yevgeniy Dykhne told a briefing in Kyiv where he choked back tears.
'It was one of our best planes with a wonderful crew.'
Just hours before the crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration had banned US airlines from flying over Iran, Iraq and the waters of the Persian Gulf due to the Middle East crisis.
Iranian media quoted an aviation official as saying the pilot of the airliner did not declare an emergency.
Television footage showed debris and smouldering engine parts strewn across a field, and rescue workers with face masks retrieving bodies of the victims.
After dawn had broken, photos published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency showed rescue officials in a farm field, with what appeared to be pieces of the aircraft laying nearby.
Rescue workers carried body bags and the passengers' personal items - including cases, clothes, a Santa Claus doll, English-language books and a boxing glove - were lying amidst the debris.
'The fire is so heavy that we cannot (do) any rescue... we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site,' Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran's emergency services, told Iranian state television.
The Ukrainian embassy in Iran initially issued a statement saying: 'According to preliminary data the plane crashed due to engine failure for technical reasons. As of now versions of terrorist attack or missile attack are ruled out.'
However, that claim had been deleted from the embassy website by Wednesday lunchtime, with an updated statement saying merely that the causes of the crash were under investigation.
Any previous comments about the cause were 'not official', the embassy said.
Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry, said it appeared a fire struck one of the plane's engines.
The pilot of the aircraft then lost control of the plane, sending it crashing into the ground, Biniaz said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
The crash deals a further blow to Boeing which was thrown into crisis by two plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 which killed 346 people.
Pieces of debris are seen lying at the crash site in a picture released by an Iranian news agency today, showing what appeared to be holes in the fuselage of the Boeing aircraft
People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 177 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport
Rescue workers in protective suits gather up the bodies of passengers who were killed in the Boeing 737 crash in Iran today
The black boxes (pictured) from the Ukrainian airliner were found today but Iran says it will not hand them over to Boeing
A woman shows her emotions at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv where the doomed plane was headed
82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and three Britons on flight PS752, along with 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans and four Germans died when their Ukranian 737 was shot down after departing the Tehran Airport.
RIP to the victims and condolences to the families.
Please don't sue Boeing!
Iran claims Boeing crash that claimed 177 lives hours after missile attack on US base was caused by engine fire but REFUSES to hand over jet's black box as images show fuselage peppered with holes
- The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 jet came down three minutes after take-off from Tehran today
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were no survivors among the 168 passengers and nine crew
- Ukraine's foreign ministry revealed there were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and three Britons on flight PS752
- Video appeared to show the footage of a Ukrainian plane already on fire as it fell from the sky into a farm field
- Ukrainian embassy in Iran initially said the crash had been caused by an engine failure but deleted the claim
- The plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, the Ukrainian airline said
- It crashed hours after Iran attacked two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani
Iran has blamed a technical failure for a plane crash which killed 177 people near Tehran today, just hours after the Islamic republic launched missile strikes on US bases in retaliation for the death of Qassem Soleimani.
The Boeing 737 jet came down just minutes after take-off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran early this morning, sparking fresh alarm amid spiralling tensions in the Middle East.
Three Britons and 63 Canadians were among the 177 passengers and crew on board the Ukrainian International Airlines flight to Kyiv.
Mystery surrounded the cause of the crash this morning after images emerged showing the wreckage of the Boeing fuselage peppered with holes at the crash site.
Iran is blaming 'technical difficulties' and says the pilot lost control after a fire struck one of the plane's engines, but said the crew had not reported an emergency and will not hand the black boxes over to Boeing or the US.
The Ukrainian embassy in Tehran initially stated that the crash had been caused by an engine failure rather than terrorism or a missile attack, but later deleted that claim.
Video footage appeared to show the plane already burning in the night sky before it crashed, sparking speculation that it had been accidentally shot down or collided with a military drone.
The Boeing plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, with 'one of our best crews' manning the aircraft, a Ukrainian airline official said.
The French jet engine manufacturer CFM said any speculation about a technical failure was 'premature'.
A series of airlines have announced they will stop flying over Iranian airspace with the cause of the crash yet to be fully established.
There were no survivors among the 168 passengers and nine crew, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry later revealed there were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and three Britons on flight PS752, along with 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans and four Germans.
Canada is home to a large Iranian diaspora community and UIA offers discount flights between Tehran and Toronto, with a transit in Kiev.
According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24, the Boeing 737-800 reached an altitude of 7,925ft before tracking of the flight suddenly ended after three minutes.
The plane had been delayed from taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran by almost an hour.
The Boeing jet was new and had been checked two days ago, the Ukrainian airline said.
'The plane was in working order,' UIA company president Yevgeniy Dykhne told a briefing in Kyiv where he choked back tears.
'It was one of our best planes with a wonderful crew.'
Just hours before the crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration had banned US airlines from flying over Iran, Iraq and the waters of the Persian Gulf due to the Middle East crisis.
Iranian media quoted an aviation official as saying the pilot of the airliner did not declare an emergency.
Television footage showed debris and smouldering engine parts strewn across a field, and rescue workers with face masks retrieving bodies of the victims.
After dawn had broken, photos published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency showed rescue officials in a farm field, with what appeared to be pieces of the aircraft laying nearby.
Rescue workers carried body bags and the passengers' personal items - including cases, clothes, a Santa Claus doll, English-language books and a boxing glove - were lying amidst the debris.
'The fire is so heavy that we cannot (do) any rescue... we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site,' Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran's emergency services, told Iranian state television.
The Ukrainian embassy in Iran initially issued a statement saying: 'According to preliminary data the plane crashed due to engine failure for technical reasons. As of now versions of terrorist attack or missile attack are ruled out.'
However, that claim had been deleted from the embassy website by Wednesday lunchtime, with an updated statement saying merely that the causes of the crash were under investigation.
Any previous comments about the cause were 'not official', the embassy said.
Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry, said it appeared a fire struck one of the plane's engines.
The pilot of the aircraft then lost control of the plane, sending it crashing into the ground, Biniaz said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
The crash deals a further blow to Boeing which was thrown into crisis by two plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 which killed 346 people.
Pieces of debris are seen lying at the crash site in a picture released by an Iranian news agency today, showing what appeared to be holes in the fuselage of the Boeing aircraft
People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 177 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport
Rescue workers in protective suits gather up the bodies of passengers who were killed in the Boeing 737 crash in Iran today
The black boxes (pictured) from the Ukrainian airliner were found today but Iran says it will not hand them over to Boeing
A woman shows her emotions at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv where the doomed plane was headed
