Tehran: Iranian authorities have said that the Ukrainian airliner, which crashed outside Tehran with the loss of all 176 people on board, had turned back after suffering a problem, as Ukrainian experts joined the investigation Thursday.
Both Canada and the United States called for a full investigation to determine the cause of Wednesday’s crash, which came shortly after Tehran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qaseem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
There was no immediate indication that foul play may have caused the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane to go down soon after take-off, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against speculating on the crash causes.
“The plane, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport at the moment of the crash,” the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation said on its website late Wednesday.
“The plane disappeared from radar screens the moment it reached 8,000 feet (2,400 metres). The pilot sent no radio message about the unusual circumstances. According to eyewitnesses, a fire was seen on board the plane which grew in intensity,” the organisation added, reporting the first findings of its investigation into the crash.
The organisation said it had questioned witnesses both on the ground and on board a second aircraft which was flying above the Ukrainian Boeing 737 as the disaster unfolded.
Meanwhile heartbreaking details started emerging about the victims, most of them from Iran and Canada.
Body bags were lined up on the ground, and the passengers’ personal items – including luggage, clothes, a Santa Claus doll and a boxing glove – were scattered in the debris.
According to Ukraine, 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons were on board, as well as 11 Ukrainians – including the nine crew members.
Some 45 Ukrainian aviation experts and security officials flew in here early Thursday to participate in the investigation, including ‘deciphering the black boxes’” discovered by Iranian authorities at the crash site, Ukraine’s President Zelensky said.
AFP