An airplane carrying 40 passengers crashed in a residential area after taking off from Teheran’s Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

 

Initial reports were that 40 passengers, including seven children, were killed in the crash, IRNA reported. No information was available on whether anyone on the ground was injured.

 

The plane, belonging to Taban Airlines, crashed when its engine was reportedly shut down shortly after taking off from Mehrabad Airport at 9.45am local time (0515 GMT) on Sunday, IRNA reported. It was bound for Tabas in north-eastern Iran but crashed into the Azad residential block on Mina 6 Boulevard, the report said.

 

Mehrabad Airport is located in a western suburb of Teheran and mainly functions as a domestic airport, although it also serves some international routes.

 

Iran’s aviation sector has suffered repeated crashes which have been blamed by Iranian politicians on international sanctions.

 

Those sanctions have restricted Iranian carriers from buying new aircraft. For years, planes have been kept in service through parts imported on the black market, cannibalised from other planes or reproduced locally, aviation sources say.

 

Iran’s four largest carriers – Iran Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Mahan Air and Iran Air Tours – all have average fleet ages above 22 years, Iranian media have reported. They serve a market of 76 million people.

 

US companies Boeing Co and General Electric Co  have said they are seeking to export parts to Iran under the agreement for sanctions relief.

 

The chief of Iran Air said the airline will need at least 100 passenger jets once sanctions against the country are lifted.(Reuters)