Crash in UAE
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 7:22 amAt least 34 people are feared dead after an Iranian airliner crashed in the United Arab Emirates today.
The Kish Airline plane, which is believed to have been carrying between 40 and 50 people, went down in flames at 11am local time (0700GMT) as it flew into Sharjah airport from the Iranian island of Kish, according to initial reports.
Local television news showed the burning wreckage as rescue helicopters arrived at the scene. A row of bodies covered in red blankets was visible in the footage, and emergency workers could be seen sifting through the smoking debris in search of survivors.
The number of people aboard was not immediately clear, with mixed reports from officials and local television of 50 or 40 people, including one child.
The UAE's official news agency, WAM, quoted sources at the scene as saying they could see 33 bodies. A doctor at a Sharjah hospital said he had received one body and three injured passengers.
An official at Kish Airlines confirmed that one of the company's planes had been involved in an accident but said the company was still seeking further information.
Another airline source said the airliner was a Fokker-50, which can carry about 60 people, and that it had crashed in a populated area near Sharjah airport. Kish has a fleet of four Russian-built Tupolev-154 jets and four short-range Fokker-50 turboprops, according to the company's website.
Iran has a history of air accidents, often blamed on badly maintained planes. In June, an Iranian military C-130 transport plane crashed outside Tehran, killing all seven people on board. In February, a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 crashed in south-east Iran, killing all 275 people on board.
In September, a Tupolev-154 belonging to Kish Air went off course while making its landing approach at the Minsk-2 airport in Belarus, striking trees and sustaining serious damage to the wings. None of the 40 people aboard were hurt.
Tehran has blamed many of its air crashes on US sanctions, saying they have prevented the country from repairing and replacing its ageing fleet.
The Kish Airline plane, which is believed to have been carrying between 40 and 50 people, went down in flames at 11am local time (0700GMT) as it flew into Sharjah airport from the Iranian island of Kish, according to initial reports.
Local television news showed the burning wreckage as rescue helicopters arrived at the scene. A row of bodies covered in red blankets was visible in the footage, and emergency workers could be seen sifting through the smoking debris in search of survivors.
The number of people aboard was not immediately clear, with mixed reports from officials and local television of 50 or 40 people, including one child.
The UAE's official news agency, WAM, quoted sources at the scene as saying they could see 33 bodies. A doctor at a Sharjah hospital said he had received one body and three injured passengers.
An official at Kish Airlines confirmed that one of the company's planes had been involved in an accident but said the company was still seeking further information.
Another airline source said the airliner was a Fokker-50, which can carry about 60 people, and that it had crashed in a populated area near Sharjah airport. Kish has a fleet of four Russian-built Tupolev-154 jets and four short-range Fokker-50 turboprops, according to the company's website.
Iran has a history of air accidents, often blamed on badly maintained planes. In June, an Iranian military C-130 transport plane crashed outside Tehran, killing all seven people on board. In February, a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 crashed in south-east Iran, killing all 275 people on board.
In September, a Tupolev-154 belonging to Kish Air went off course while making its landing approach at the Minsk-2 airport in Belarus, striking trees and sustaining serious damage to the wings. None of the 40 people aboard were hurt.
Tehran has blamed many of its air crashes on US sanctions, saying they have prevented the country from repairing and replacing its ageing fleet.