A plane crashed on Wednesday nearby Qazvin province, North Iran, causing at least 168 deaths, Iranian news agency IRNA informs, quoted by AFP. According to local newspapers, there are no survivors.
It appears that there were 153 passengers on board and 15 crew members, Iranian Civil Aviation spokesperson Reza Jafarzadeh informed. The Tupolev plane, owned by Caspian Airlines, was flying from Tehran to Erevan, Armenia's capital city.
According to IRNA, the plane flew from the international airport Imam Khomeini in Tehran at local time 11:33 but after just 16 minutes, it disapeared from the radar and crashed nearby Qazvin province.
The plane exploded when it hit the ground. Authorities present at the scene of the crash declared that there are no survivors.
