An Iranian airplane carrying 60 passengers and 6 crew members crashed in southern Iran on Sunday, killing everyone onboard.
“An ATR aircraft of Aseman Airlines with 60 passengers and about six crew disappeared from radar this morning,” Aladin Borujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, was reported to have told the semi-official ISNA news agency.
“Observation by people (in the area) indicates a crash.”
Rescue efforts to reach the crash site are facing roadblocks due to inclement weather.
“The weather is currently cloudy and rainy and rescuers are searching for the plane but they have not sighted it yet,” said spokesman for Iran’s emergency services, Mojtaba Khaledi, according to Press TV.
“Despite the poor weather conditions, relief groups are continuing their search.”
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the crash site is around 23 kilometers (14 miles) from Yasuj, some 500 kilometers south of Tehran.
Netanyahu Sends His Condolences
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity, while still attending the Munich Security Conference, to offer his condolences for the victims in the crash.
“I take this opportunity to send condolences to the families of the 66 civilians that lost their lives in the plane accident today,” Netanyahu said at the Munich Security Conference.
“We have no quarrel with the people of Iran, only with the regime that torments them.”