Bodies of women killed in Iran air crash return to Turkey

The bodies returned to Turkey today of 10 of the 11 women killed when a private jet crashed in Iran while returning from a pre-wedding party in the United Arab Emirates, a tragedy that shocked Turks.

The women attended the hen party of Mina Basaran, the daughter of Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran, and were returning home when the private jet crashed into the Zagros mountains.

Mina Basaran, 28, and many of her seven girlfriends who accompanied her on the trip had successful careers with some already starting families. The disaster prompted an outpouring of grief in Turkey.

The other three of the 11 killed, all women, were the two pilots and a flight attendant.

Ten bodies were flown back to Istanbul airport from Iran aboard a Turkish military jet, the Dogan news agency said.

The families of the dead were meanwhile flown home on a scheduled Turkish Airlines flight, it added.

The body of co-pilot Beril Gebes has yet to be recovered, it said, after previous reports said all had been found.

Iranian Legal Medicine Organisation confirmed that 10 of the women had been identified. "One of the cadaver bags contained remains which belonged to other 10 bodies. One body is still missing," it said.

Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said the plane crashed after a technical problem whose origin remains unknown.

Turkish media reports said Mina Basaran was to marry her fiance Murat Gezer on April 14 at the Ciragan Saray, an Ottoman-era palace by the Bosphorus and one of Turkey's most prominent wedding venues.

Photographs reprinted from social media showed the eight women lounging at a resort in the UAE and posing with the two pilots inside the plane.

The Basaran Holding company of Mina's father Huseyin is active in the energy, construction and tourism sectors. Mina had become a board member in 2013.