Ukraine Air Boeing 737 crashes near Tehran, all 170 on board killed: Report

Tehran, Jan 08: Ukrainian air plane carrying 170 passengers and crew has crashed near an airport in the capital, Tehran. The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. Iran's state television said all those on board the airliner were killed.

"A Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines has crashed due to technical problems after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport with 180 passengers and crew aboard," the semi-official Fars news agency tweeted on Wednesday.

An investigation team was at the site of the crash in southwestern outskirts of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said.

Flight data from the airport showed a Ukrainian 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines took off Wednesday morning, then stopped sending data almost immediately afterward, according to website FlightRadar24. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The crash came hours after Iran launched tens of surface to surface missiles at Iraq's Ain Assad airbase that houses US troops. The attack was over the killing of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani.On January 3, the US took down Soleimani in a drone strike.

Ever since the imposition of strict sanctions against Iran, tensions have been high with the US. Sanctions on Iranian oil exports were imposed last year and this had forced major importers like India and China to cut purchases.

The sanctions were imposed after several oil tankers were attacked in the Persian Gulf. The US had blamed Iran for the attacks.