A massive funeral procession was held in Tehran Thursday morning for those who have been dead in a tragic plane crash on Tuesday afternoon. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

TEHRAN, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A massive funeral procession was held here Thursday morning for those who have been dead in a tragic plane crash on Tuesday afternoon.

    Thousands of people, including a large group of officials, members of the armed forces and those of bereaved families, joined the procession.

A woman cries on the funeral which was held in Tehran Thursday morning for those who have been dead in a tragic plane crash on Tuesday afternoon.(Xinhua/AFP photo)

    The Majlis (parliament) Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, First Vice-President Parviz Dawoudi and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi were among the paraders, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    According to the official figure, 108 people were killed when a military C-130 aircraft crashed Tuesday afternoon and smashed into a 10-story apartment block in Tehran.

    Among the dead were 97 people on board, including 68 journalists and photographers who were on the way to cover military maneuvers in the south of the country.

    Adel was quoted as saying during the procession that the Majlis would do its best to discover the causes behind the air crash.

    "If it was due to any negligence or shortcoming, it should not happen again. Officials should pay utmost attention to safety requirements," Adel stressed.

    Harandi, whose ministry deals with journalistic and publication affairs, also said that the government had called for a probe into the disastrous incident.

    On Wednesday, IRNA reported that Iran's prosecutive, judiciary and legislative branches have been assigned to carry out thorough investigations on the plane crash.

    Rumors said that pilots of the aircraft had smelt some technical problems with the engines but were finally ordered to take off anyway, which were denied by official sources. Enditem