OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - All 176 on board an Ukrainian Boeing-737 plane have died in a mid-air crash in Iran's capital Tehran after day break Wednesday.
Ukraine International Airline's flight PS752 to Kiev, carrying 167 passengers and 9 crew, crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini international airport at 06:12 local time.
Reports quoting rescue and recovery units deployed by Iran's Emergency Services said no survivors could be found at an open field near Parand, a surbub of Tehran, where the aircraft's debris remained scattered.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the victims included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, including the crew-members, 10 Swedes, Four Afghans, Three Germans, an Three Britons.
The plane crashed within hours of ballistic missile attacks from Iran targeting U.S. air bases in Iraq. The incident was not the result of an act of terrorism but engine failure, according to Ukraine's embassy in Tehran.
The embassy later withdrew this statement on their website and replaced it with a travel warning for Iran.
Iran's Accident Investigation Board said the crew did not send any emergency call or indicated any problems.
Aviation Herald reported that local residents videotaped the footage of an aircraft on fire, losing height and impacting ground.
Reports said the black boxes are yet to be located.
The aircraft was delivered new to Ukrainian Airlines in 2016.
The incident prompted many airlines, including Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Air India, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
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