Ukraine has refused to rule out that the plane that crashed in Iran and killed all 176 on board was struck by a missile.
The foreign ministry in Kyiv confirmed that everyone aboard the Boeing 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines was killed after it came down shortly after it departed from Imam Khomeini International Airport in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
There were three British people on board, as well as citizens from six other countries, according to the Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko.
Asked at a briefing in Kyiv if the plane could have been downed by a missile, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk refused to rule it out, but cautioned against speculation until the investigation concluded, according to The Telegraph, UK
Initially, Ukraine’s embassy in Iran said on Wednesday morning that engine failure caused the plane to crash and denied that it was terror-related or that a rocket had hit the aircraft.
But it later withdrew this statement, saying that anything was possible, and Mr Zelensky instructed Ukraine’s prosecutors to open criminal proceedings over the crash.
Video footage by Iran’s ISNA news agency purports to show the plane on fire in the seconds before it crashes into the ground, which is corroborated by Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation Ministry, who said it appeared a fire struck one of its engines.
Hassan Razaeifar, the head of air crash investigation committee, said it appeared the pilot couldn’t communicate with air-traffic controllers in Tehran in the last moments of the flight and witnesses said the pilot steered the plane towards a football field to avoid a residential area.
It is not clear whether the incident is related to Iran’s missile attack on US bases in Iraq on Wednesday morning.
Not a chance of crew error,’ airline says
In an updated statement, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) said: “According to our records, the aircraft ascended as high as 2,400 metres.
“Given the crew’s experience, error probability is minimal. We do not even consider such a chance.”
Meanwhile the list of nationalities in the ill-fated crash has been released: 82 Iranians; 63 Canadians; 11 Ukrainians’ 10 Swedes. No survivors
