Officials Now Say 77 Fatally Injured

The number of people fatally injured in a Boeing 727 accident in northwestern Iran has risen to 77, according to officials there. Iran's official news agency IRNA reports that 36 men and 16 women lost their lives when the airliner went down Sunday at about 1945 local time.

B727 File Image

The aircraft was owned by the IranAir, the state-run airline. 106 people were reported to be on board at the time of the accident.

According to media sources including the Voice of America, the aging airliner broke into several pieces when it went down during an off-airport emergency landing attempt close to Urumiyeh, which is near the Turkish border about 430 miles northwest of Tehran. Rueters reports the weather at the time of the accident as "zero visibility" in snow and fog, according to state-run television. The BBC reports that the airplane attempted to land at Urumiyeh, but was unable to because of the weather. The pilot had reportedly decided to attempt to return to Tehran, where the flight had originated, but went down about five miles from the airport for still-unknown reasons.

Iran has ordered an investigation into the accident. The government has blamed U.S. sanctions against the country for preventing it from purchasing newer airplanes and spare parts in several of the country's more-recent airline accidents.

FMI: www.icao.int/icao/en/m_links.html#i