Iran finds crashed plane, receives condolences from int'l community

Iran found the wreckage of the crashed Aseman Airlines ATR-72 plane on Monday and received condolences from Chinese, Russian and United Nations (UN) leaders for the victims of the incident and their families.

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, a rescue helicopter flies over the Dena mountains while searching for wreckage of a plane that crashed on Sunday, in southern Iran, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Iranian search and rescue teams on Monday reached the site of a plane crash the previous day that authorities say killed all 65 people on board, Iran's Press TV reported.[Photo: Ali Khodaei/Tasnim News Agency via AP]

The deputy governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southwestern Iran said on Monday that the wreckage of the aircraft, which crashed into the Dena mountain in the central Iranian province of Isfahan on Sunday, was found near Dengezlu city in the province.

The air tragedy killed all 65 people on board, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran confirmed on Sunday.

Following the incident, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani offered their condolences to the families of the victims.

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, rescue and search team members search for wreckage of a plane that crashed on Sunday in the Dena mountains in southern Iran, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Iranian search and rescue teams on Monday reached the site of a plane crash the previous day that authorities say killed all 65 people on board, Iran's Press TV reported. [Photo: Alireza Vasigh Ansari/Tasnim News Agency via AP]

The international community grieved over the air crash.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a condolence message to his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his message on Sunday to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, expressed his deep condolences over the victims who lost their lives in the air tragedy and extended his sincere sympathy to their families.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a condolence message to his Iranian counterpart Rouhani over the crash, the Kremlin said Sunday.

"The president emphasized that Russia grieves together with those who lost families and friends in the tragedy and wished them courage and strength in this dark hour," the Kremlin press service cited Putin as saying.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and government of Iran, said on Sunday Guterres'deputy spokesman Farhan Haq in a statement.

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, family members of a plane crash victims weep in the village of Bideh, at the area that the plane crashed, southern Iran, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. An Iranian commercial plane crashed Sunday in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, and officials said they feared all people aboard were killed. [Photo: Ali Khodaei/Tasnim News Agency via AP]

The crashed ATR-72 aircraft belonging to Iran Aseman Airlines took off from the capital Tehran on Monday morning and disappeared from the radar screen 50 minutes after its departure, near an area about 14 miles (22.5 km) from its destination Yasuj, an industrial city in the Zagros mountains in southwestern Iran.

A total of 20 emergency teams were dispatched to the region by the crisis management agencies of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, where Yasuj is located, and three adjacent provinces.

The search and rescue operations in the Zagros mountains were slow due to bad weather, Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for Iran's emergency services, said on Sunday.

Iranian aviation officials said the cause of the crash will be examined and announced after the black box of the wrecked plane is recovered.