All 11 on board presumed dead after Turkish plane crashes in Iran

DUBAI/ISTANBUL: All 11 people on board a private Turkish plane were presumed dead on Sunday after it crashed and burst into flames on an Iranian mountainside while en route from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul, officials said.

The plane was owned by Turkey’s Basaran Holding and carried eight passengers and three crew, an official for Turkey’s transport ministry said.

Those on board included the daughter of the firm’s owner, businessman Huseyin Basaran, and seven of her friends. She was due to be married next month, Turkish news agency DHA said.

They were returning from a hen party in Dubai, the Hurriyet newspaper said.

The head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, told Reuters that there was “no chance” of any survivors, given the aircraft was a jet and it was flying in snowy weather. But the aid agency was unable to officially confirm fatalities yet, he added.

He said the eight passengers included at least one member of Basaran’s family and, in a Twitter posting, offered condolences.

Calls to Basaran Holding’s office in Istanbul went unanswered.

Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, told state television the jet had crashed in the near the southwestern city of Shahr-e Kord.

An Iranian emergency services spokesman was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying the wreckage was burning and was clearly visible.

Emergency crews were attempting to reach the crash site but the terrain was mountainous, making their approach difficult, he said.