Iranian officials blamed mechanical issues for the crash, while Ukrainian authorities said it was too early to determine the cause.
A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed after takeoff in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, killing all on board, according to Iranian state television and Ukrainian officials.
Iranian state TV reported that the crash was suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues, without elaborating. Ukrainian officials said it was too early to determine the cause.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that he had received reports of the crash that indicated all passengers and crew died in the crash. He extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko, 82 people on board were Iranian, 63 Canadian, and 11 Ukrainian, including nine crew members. Ten were from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, three from Germany and three from the United Kingdom.
Prystaiko later said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, and they agreed to coordinate investigation groups to determine the cause of the crash.
The crash came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers. There has been no link made between the two incidents by officials on either side.
The plane’s operator, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), confirmed the incident, saying 167 people and nine crew members were on board a Boeing 737 when it took off from Tehran International Airport en route to Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, at 6:10 a.m. local time (9:40 p.m. ET). It disappeared from the radars a few minutes after departure.
It’s not clear how the plane went down, but video from the scene showed what appeared to be pieces of an aircraft fuselage, an engine and other debris on the outskirts of Tehran.
“The airline expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the air crash and will do everything possible to support the relatives of the victims,” a Facebook statement from UIA said.