Plane crash in Iran kills 15

At least 15 people were killed in a Boeing 707 plane crash near the Iranian city of Karaj on Monday, the media reported.

The cargo plane with 16 on board crashed in a residential area, 45 km west of Tehran, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) quoted Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Emergency Centre of Iran, as saying.

It was supposed to land in Karaj's Payam Airport but the pilot mistakenly took the plane to the Fath airport, which was not suited for large cargo aircraft.

After landing at the wrong airport, the plane went out of control and overshot the runway, hitting an empty residential building and catching fire, ISNA reported.

A woman was among the dead. Ten bodies were identified while five others needed genetic examinations, said Hamid Davood Abadi, head of the Forensic Medicine Centre of Alborz province.

The Iranian Army said only one person -- a flight engineer -- of the 16 people had been found alive and taken to hospital for treatment.

The plane was flying from Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek and was carrying a cargo of meat to Iran, the Army said.

It was not clear who owned the plane. A spokesman for Iran's civil aviation department said the plane belonged to Kyrgyzstan, while Kyrgyzstan's Manas International Airport said it was operated by Iran's Payam Air.

--IANS

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