Sixty-six people have been killed in a passenger plane crash in Iran, airline company officials say.
A French-made ATR-72 owned by Iran's Aseman Airlines sits on the tarmac at Dubai airport on July 29, 2008. Photo: AFP
The Aseman Airlines plane, en route from Tehran to the south-western city of Yasuj, came down in the Zagros mountains.
The Red Crescent deployed search and rescue teams to the site near the city of Semirom in Isfahan province.
Flight EP 3704 left Tehran at 8am local time (5.30pm NZT) and disappeared from radar about an hour later.
The aircraft crashed on Dena Mountain, 22km from Yasuj, news channel Irinn reported.
The plane was a French-made twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500.
Those on board were 60 passengers, two security guards, two flight attendants and the pilot and co-pilot.
"After searches in the area, unfortunately we were informed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, all our dear ones lost their lives in this incident," airline spokesman Mohammad Tabatabai said.
A child was among the victims, emergency services head Pir Hossein Kulivand was quoted as saying.
Bad weather had hampered rescue efforts. Emergency teams had to travel to the crash site by land rather than using a helicopter, Mr Kulivand said.
Ageing fleet
Iran has suffered several aviation accidents in recent years and has an ageing aircraft fleet.
The country has struggled to maintain its planes in the face of international sanctions imposed to curb its nuclear programme.
Those sanctions have been mostly lifted under a 2015 deal between Iran and the US alongside several other powers.
Aseman, Iran's third largest airline, signed a contract with Boeing last year to buy 30 of its latest medium-range 737s.
