Иране разбился самолет, погибли 46 украинцев.
РБК. 23.12.2002, Тегеран 23:22:57. В результате крупной авиакатастрофы, произошедшей сегодня в Иране, погибли 46 человек. Большинство из них, по предварительным сведениям, граждане Украины. Как отмечает АР, самолет вылетел из Турции и разбился близ иранского г.Алиабад.
Никаких подробностей катастрофы пока не сообщается. Пресс-секретарь МИД Ирана уже высказал соболезнования руководству Украины в связи с трагедией.
В авиакатастрофе в Иране погибли 46 человек
В результате авиакатастрофы, произошедшей вечером в центре Ирана, погибли 46 человек в большинстве – граждане Украины. По данным иранского телевидения, самолет упал у деревни Алибад, в 400 км к югу от Тегерана.
Как сообщает телевидение Ирана, на самолете летели украинские космические эксперты.
По данным Al-Jazeera, в катастрофе погибли 42 пассажира и 4 пилотов
Ukrainian Plane Crashes in Iran, 46 Dead
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TEHRAN (Reuters) - A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying aerospace experts crashed in Iran on Monday killing all 46 people on board, the Iranian transport minister said.
"All 46 passengers including the crew have been killed. I am very sorry," Transport Minister Ahmad Khorram told Reuters in Islamabad.
The plane, carrying 42 passengers and four crew, originated in the Black Sea city of Trabzon in northeastern Turkey, an airport official in Ankara said. Turkish state run Anatolian news agency said the plane had stopped for refueling.
Television said the passengers aboard the aircraft were senior Ukrainian aircraft industry officials traveling to Isfahan to test the Iran-140.
Iran has been manufacturing the Antonov-140 aircraft, dubbed Iran-140, under a license from Ukraine in Isfahan. The 52-seat twin-turboprop had its first public test flight in February 2001.
"It was the same model plane that we are developing with Ukraine, but I don't think the crash will affect this project," Khorram said.
Iranian radio quoted the managing director of the Iranian HESA aircraft-building company as saying the passengers were to take part in the test flight ceremony of the 140 in Isfahan on Tuesday.
Some reports said the passengers were Turkish and Ukrainian nationals.
It said the Antonov plane lost contact with the ground close to the airport. It went down 45 miles from Ardestan, south of Tehran, crashing at 1600 GMT according to one Iranian radio.
Iranian airlines are seeking to refurbish their aging fleet and meet rising passenger volumes despite financial troubles and U.S. sanctions which bar sales of Boeing aircraft to the Islamic Republic.
Ukraine sold the production license for the An-140 to Iran in 2000, the only foreign market its cash-strapped aircraft producers had managed to enter.
The turbo-prop has a range of 1,300 miles at a cruising speed of up to 357 kph. Priced at $9 million each according to Iranian media, it is one of the world's cheapest medium-range aircraft.
More than 100 Russian and Ukrainian enterprises are reportedly involved in Iran's production of the An-140, with some 80 percent of parts coming from Russia.
The plane was assembled at an aircraft factory linked to Iran's Defense Ministry with help from Ukrainian specialists. The production line has cost Iran $273 million and is to have a capacity to assemble 12 aircraft annually.
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