Gen Bajwa condoles loss of lives in Iran plane crash

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed his condolences on the loss of lives in tragic Iranian plane crash, Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Major Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Sunday.

In a tweet following the tragedy killing as many as 66 passengers and crew members, Gen Ghafoor said the army chief shared grief of bereaved families and brotherly Iranian nation.

COAS condoles loss of precious lives in tragic Iranian plane crash. Shares grief of bereaved families and brotherly Iranian nation.

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 18, 2018

Earlier today, it was reported that all passengers and crew aboard a plane that crashed in central Iran were believed to have been killed.

The plane operated by Iranian carrier Aseman Airlines crashed in a mountainous area near the town of Semirom after taking off from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, news agency ISNA quoted emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi as saying.

The ATR-made plane was on a flight to the southwestern city of Yasuj and a spokesman for the airline said there were 60 passengers and six crew aboard.

“Aseman Airlines public relations head said that all on board are unfortunately dead,” a reporter on state television said.

Rescue helicopters were unable to land at the crash site because of heavy fog and emergency workers were trying to reach the area by land, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted the governor of Semirom as saying.

The leader of a rescue team told state television they had not reached the site of the crash yet.

Media reports said the plane disappeared from radar screens 50 minutes after taking off from Mehrabad airport.

Mehrabad is located in western Tehran and mainly functions as a domestic airport, although it also serves some international routes.

Iran has suffered several plane crashes in the past few decades. Tehran says U.S. sanctions have long prevented it from buying new aircraft or spare parts from the West.