In first fatal incident for Ukraine airline, plane crashes in Iran
Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, the world on Wednesday woke up to learn of a most unfortunate disaster. A Ukraine International flight from Tehran to Kiev crashed minutes after take-off, cutting short the lives of all souls on board.
Families of the victims have to bear the cost of the crash, with a memorial being set up inside the Boryspil International Airport on the outskirts of Kiev.
Initial reports
Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the site of Wednesday's crash southwest of Tehran for possible debris of a Russian-made missile used by Iran's military.
An initial report by Iran's civil aviation organisation said the plane had experienced an unspecified technical problem.
(Photograph:AFP)
Bodies recovered
The Ukrainian airliner took off at 6:12 AM local time and was given permission to climb to 26,000 feet, reports said. It crashed six minutes later near the town of Sabashahr.
Bodies and body parts recovered from the site of the crash have been taken to the coroner's office for identification, reports said.
(Photograph:AFP)
Speculation
The crash happened hours after Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq, leading some to speculate that the plane may have been hit.
The initial assessment of Western intelligence agencies was that the plane had suffered a technical malfunction and had not been brought down by a missile.
(Photograph:AFP)