'Deeply saddened': UN chief condoles death of 176 passengers in Ukrainian plane crash

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres expressed his sympathy and sadness on the death of 176 passengers who were on board on the Ukrainian airliner. The airplane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International airport in Tehran on Wednesday.

Condolences to families

According to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Governments of all the countries whose nationals lost their lives in this tragedy. The official statement read,

“The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the crash of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran."

A Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed on January 8 due to technical glitches just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, according to Iranian media reports.

As per the reports, all 176 passengers on board the PS752 airliner have died. A spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, Reza Jafarzadeh told the media that rescue teams were immediately sent to the spot near the airport where the aircraft belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed but they could not assist since the place was ablaze.

Read: Ukraine International Airlines Plane Crashes In Tehran; All 176 Aboard Dead

Read: Ukraine President's Tribute To Crash Victims

According to media reports citing Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at the airport, the plane was heading towards Kiev and had 167 passengers and nine crew on board. The Boeing 737 took off early Wednesday morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post that he would cancel the rest of his trip to Oman and would return to Kiev due to the crash. “My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of all passengers and crew,” Zelenskiy said.

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The Ukraine Embassy in Iran have reportedly ruled out any terrorism cause and said that the plane had suffered engine failure. The Iranian local media reported that 32 of those on board were foreigners.

Local media further reported that the pilot of the ill-fated plane did not declare an emergency. Ukraine Security Council said that 11 Ukrainian citizens were killed in the plane crash, including nine crew members. According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane was three years old and was a Boeing 737.