Iran: Tehran Plane Crash Kills at Least 128

A military cargo plane in Iranian capital Tehran earlier Tuesday crashed into a 10-story apartment building, in which 250 people live. A C-130 Iranian army aircraft carrying 80 passengers and a 10-member crew was flying to the city of Bandar Abbas in the south of the country, it crashed into the apartment building as the result of a technical malfunction. According to eyewitnesses, the aircraft’s right wing was in fire. The pilot reported an engine malfunction and asked for an emergency landing at Mahrabad airport. The official Iranian news agency, IRNA said most of the passengers were local reporters heading to the city to cover a military exercise in the region. Following the crash, police cordoned off the crash site; helicopters, ambulances, and buses were used for ferry survivors to hospitals. An official reported cars at a parking lot at the scene of the crash also caught fire and some of the injured are in a serious condition. Sixteen people have so far been rescued and taken to hospitals in Tehran. The Iranian Army has issued no detailed information about the accident.

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