by Mehdi Bagheri

    TEHRAN, July 15 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian passenger plane crashed on Wednesday morning near the country's northwestern city of Gazvin and all 168 people on board were killed, Iran's state TV IRIB website reported.

Debris is seen at the crash site of the Caspian Airlines plane, which fell into farmland near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran on July 15, 2009. The Iranian airliner en route to neighbouring Armenia crashed on Wednesday, killing all 168 people on board in the worst air disaster in Iran in recent years. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang) Photo Gallery>>>

    IRIB quoted an official of the Health Ministry Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan as saying that all the people on board were killed.

    The crash took place 11 minutes after take-off from Tehran's international Imam Khomeini airport and 112.7 km from the capital city.

    Among the passengers were 11 members of Iran's national adolescent Judo, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

    "It is likely that there is an Iranian Parliament (Majlis) member among the deceased passengers," IRNA quoted the Brigadier General Hassan Sajedinia, an Iranian police officer, as saying.

    The nationalities of most of the passengers were Iranian while there were some Armenians as well.

    The officials from Iran's international airport confirmed that there was no Chinese citizen among the victims.

Iranian soldiers gather at the crash site of the Caspian Airlines plane, which fell into farmland near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran on July 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang) Photo Gallery>>>

    The reports are not consistent about the exact location of the air crash which happened at 11:33 a.m. (0703 GMT) on Wednesday.

    The state TV said that the crash took place near Farsian village, 6 km to the south of Gazvin city and IRNA reported that it was in the plantations near Jannatabad village not far from Gazvin city in northwestern Gazvin Province.

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a statement in which he expressed his grief for the deaths and condolences for the relatives of the victims. He also urged a prompt investigation into the cause.

    The Russia-made Tupolev passenger plane had been traveling from Tehran to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, the local satellite Press TV said, adding that the plane was completely destroyed and its wreckage in flames.

    The cause of the disaster is not immediately clear, but the officials have attributed the incident to the technical problems of the airliner.

A rescuer searches among the debris of the crashed Caspian Airlines plane, which fell into farmland near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran on July 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang) Photo Gallery>>>

    The Caspian Airlines, established in Iran in 1993, has harnessed the fleet which are mostly hired Tupolevs.

    The Caspian airplanes fly to the most areas of the country and the company has good share in domestic flight market. It has also introduced international direct flights to Armenia, Syria, Turkey, UAE and Ukrine.

    In the past, Iran's airlines have suffered a number of flight disasters, both civil and military use.

    Experts believe that the U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran which prevented its allies from selling aircraft or aircraft parts to the country, "have undermined safety standards within Iran's civil and military aviation fleet and is increasing the likelihood of more major air disasters."

Backgrounder: Major air accidents since 2008

Iran's passenger plane crashes near Gazvin, all dead: reports

    TEHRAN, July 15 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian passenger plane crashed near the country's northwestern city of Gazvin and all 168 people on board were killed, Iran's state TV IRIB website reported Wednesday.

    The crash took place eleven minutes after take-off from Tehran's international Imam Khomeini airport and 70 miles (112.7 km) from Tehran.

    IRIB quoted an official from the health ministry, Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan, as saying that all the people on board were killed. Full story

Backgrounder: Major air accidents since 2008

Eight more bodies from crashed Yemeni airliner found along Tanzania coast

Relatives and friends of passengers aboard the Airbus flight A310-300 from Yemen arrive at a crisis center at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, June 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    DAR ES SALAAM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Rescue workers have found eight more bodies from the ill-fated Yemenian airliner in the water of the eastern Tanzanian coast with the total number up to 22, the local newspaper the Daily News reported on Friday.

    Some 14 bodies arrived in Dar es Salaam on Thursday aboard a private charter aircraft for DNA testing, identification and further examinations. Full story

Yemeni airliner crashes in Comoros with 150 on board, airport employee confirms

    SANA'A, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A Yemeni airliner with more than 150 people on board crashed in the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, an employee working at Yemen's airport control tower confirmed with Xinhua.

    The employee said on condition of anonymity that an Airbus A310 belonging to Yemenia Air crashed with 150 people on board some 15 minutes before its landing in Moroni, capital of Comoros. Full story

First report on Air France crash released

A handout picture from the Brazilian Navy released on June 22, 2009 shows Brazilian Navy warships searching for debris from Air France Airbus A330 out of the Atlantic Ocean. Brazilian Navy announced on Monday that they found more debris of the crashed Air France Airbus A330. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    PARIS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Airbus A330 of Air France Flight 447 plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean but did not break up in the air, said the BEA accident investigation agency on Thursday when it released its first report on the June 1 crash.

    The agency added that the faults of the speed sensors were not the cause of the crash. Full story

Air France airliner vanishes, chances of finding survivor very slim

A handout picture released by the Brazilian Navy shows recovered debris of the Air France aircraft lost in midflight over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 onboard a Brazilian Navy Corvette at Recife's harbour on June 19, 2009.  (Xinhua/Brazilian Navy Handout) Photo Gallery>>>

    PARIS, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chances of finding any survivors are "very slim" as an Air France airliner with 228 people on board vanished over the Atlantic Ocean, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday.

    In a statement at Paris' Charles de Gaulle following his meeting with relatives of passengers on the plane, Sarkozy said: "The chances of finding any survivors are very slim."  Full story

Special Report: Air France airliner crashes

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