Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency services, said the Boeing 737 operated by the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) — which was bound for Kiev — went down early Wednesday in the vicinity of the twon of Parand with 167 passengers and nine crew on board.
"The plane is on fire but we have sent crews ... and we may be able to save some passengers," he said, adding that all passengers and crew lost their lives in the crash incident.
Rescue teams have been sent to the site of the crash, said Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, saying there were 170 passengers aboard.