A passenger on the ill-fated Iranian airliner which crashed earlier today leaving 66 dead messaged a relative saying ‘may God protect us, that we arrive safely’ shortly before take off.
Natalie Amiri, the Iran correspondent for the German broadcaster ARD, shared a photo of Salman Azari’s last message on Twitter.
Sixty-six people including a child were killed earlier today after an ATR-72 commercial plane crashed in a mountainous area of Iran.
The plane was traveling from Tehran to the southern city of Yasuj in Isfahan province when it came down in the Zagros mountains.
The twin-engine turboprop, used for short-distance regional flying, is said to have collided with Mount Dena, which is 14,435 feet tall.
All of the 66 people on board the Iran Aseman Airline flight died earlier today after it came down in the Zagros Mountain. Pictured: relatives gather around a mosque at the Mehr-Abad airport in Tehran, Iran
A German journalist shared the poignant last message from one of the passengers on the flight on Twitter. He wrote: ‘May God protect us, that we arrive safely’
Relatives of passengers onboard broke down in tears after learning about the crash in Iran
Friends and family of those onboard the flight were seen crying and comforting each other after arriving at the airport
The plane had 60 passengers, 59 adults and one child, as well as a pilot, a co-pilot, two flight attendants and two air marshals on board
Aseman Airlines spokesman Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai said there had been 60 passengers on board flight Flight EP3704, including a child, and six crew members.
‘After searching the area, we learned that, unfortunately … our dear passengers had lost their lives,’ he said.
‘This plane had 60 passengers, 59 adults, and one child, as well as a pilot, a co-pilot, two flight attendants and two air marshals on board.’
The plane reportedly vanished from radar 20 minutes after taking off at 0433 GMT before crashing some 780 kilometers (485 miles) south of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
It gave its last signal at 0555 GMT when the flight was at 16,975 feet and descending, according to FlightRadar24.
The ATR-72 commerical plane was travelling from Tehran to the southern city of Yasuj in Isfahan province when it came down in the Zagros mountains
Sixty-six people including a child have been killed after a plane crashed in the Zagros mountains in Iran (pictured)
The twin-engine turboprop, used for short-distance regional flying, is said to have collided with Mount Dena (pictured), which is 14,435 feet tall
The ATR-72 plane was travelling from Tehran (THR above) to the southern city of Yasuj in Isfahan province (YES above)
The ATR-72 (stock) plane reportedly vanished from radar 20 minutes after taking off at 0433 GMT before crashing some 780 kilometers (485 miles) south of the Iranian capital, Tehran
Witnesses told local media the plane looked like it was trying to make an emergency landing before it crashed.
Dense fog meant a rescue helicopter was unable to get to the crash site immediately.
The Iranian Red Crescent deployed a search and rescue team to the site near the city of Semirom in Isfahan province.
Families console each other after learning that a plane crashed into mountains over Iran
Aseman Airlines (stock image) spokesman Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai said there had been 60 passengers on board
The Iranian Red Crescent deployed a search and rescue team to the site near the city of Semirom in Isfahan province (Zagros mountains pictured)
Aseman Airlines is Iran’s third-largest airline by fleet size, with 29 aircraft.
The plane that crashed on Sunday had been built in 1993, Aseman Airlines CEO Ali Abedzadeh told state TV.
The airline has suffered other major crashes with fatalities.
In October 1994, a twin-propeller Fokker F-28 1000 commuter plane flown by airline crashed near Natanz, 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Tehran, also killing 66 people on board.
An Aseman Airlines chartered flight in August 2008, flown by an Itek Air Boeing 737, crashed in Kyrgyzstan, killing 74 people.
Authorities said they would be investigating the latest crash.
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