Passenger plane crashes in Iran

Istanbul

An Iranian passenger plane with 66 people on board crashed in central Iran on Sunday, according to local media.

The Aseman Airlines plane flying from Tehran to the south-western city of Yasuj went down in a mountainous area in Semirom district in Isfahan province, Iran’s Emergency Department said in a statement.

Rescuers were unable to reach the site of the doomed plane due to blizzards.

The double-engine plane vanished from radar at around 08:50 local time, shortly after taking off from Tehran, Mohammed Taqi Tabatabayi, a spokesman for Iran Aseman Airlines, said.

He said 60 passengers and six crew members were aboard the plane when it crashed.

Reason of the crash remains unclear.

Iran has suffered several aviation accidents in recent years and has an aging aircraft fleet.

The Islamic Republic has been struggling to modernize its planes in face of U.S. sanctions imposed to curb its nuclear program.