Tehran, Jan 8 (EFE).- There were no survivors from the Ukraine International Airlines crash on Wednesday near Tehran, according to the Iranian emergency organization.

The organization's head, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, told local agency Fars that all of the 176 people - 167 passengers and nine crew members - on board the aircraft had died in the accident.

The plane, a Boeing 737 belonging to the Ukrainian flag carrier, took off from the Iranian airport for Kiev, but crashed soon after owing to technical problems, according to the latest available information.

The deputy head of the Red Crescent in Tehran Province, Ebrahim Tajik Nuri, said that they were informed of the accident at 6.22 am local time (2.52 am GMT) and that some 60 rescue teams were immediately sent to the site.

Two helicopters and 10 ambulances were also dispatched to the area, located between the exurbs of Shahed and Parand (located to the northwest of the Tehran metropolitan area), according to Tajik Nuri.

The Red Crescent official added that they had succeeded in extinguishing the fire caused by the crash and were recovering the bodies.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, posted a message on Facebook confirming the death of all the people aboard the plane and expressing condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy.

"According to preliminary information, all passengers and crew members had died. Our embassy is working to clarify information on the circumstances of the tragedy and the list of deceased passengers. My sincere condolences to families and loved ones of all passengers and crew members," Zelensky said.

The aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing, has been facing a deep crisis following two accidents involving its flagship 737 MAX model, causing a combined 346 deaths. The production of this model has been suspended.

The most serious plane crash in Iran in recent times occurred in February 2018, when an ATR-72 belonging to Iran Aseman Airlines crashed in a mountainous area in the center of the country, killing all 59 passengers and six crew members on board. EFE

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