Seven killed in Iranian military plane crash

TEHRAN: A military transport plane crashed near Tehran on Wednesday killing all seven people on board, the official IRNA news agency said.

It said the C-130 Hercules crashed near the town of Robatkarim, around 30 km southwest of Tehran. President Mohammad Khatami was due to address the people of Robatkarim on Wednesday afternoon, but the president was not on board the plane, an Interior Ministry spokesman told reporters.

Iran has been plagued by a series of plane crashes in the last few years. Due to US sanctions, Iran has difficulty maintaining its ageing fleet of aircraft many of which were bought from the United States before the 1979 revolution. Tehran has instead turned to the former Soviet Union to buy or lease aircraft. —Reuters

Home | National