Death Toll Raises to 77 After Iranian Plane Crashed

A plane crashed on Sunday in northwestern Iran causing the death toll to raise to 77 people according to the reports of the Iranian media. Other 27 people were injured in the accident of the IranAir jet that crashed near Orumiyeh, a snowy and mountainous part of the country.

Boeing 727 was forced by bad weather to give up its first attempt to land and to circle around for a second approach until control tower lost contact with it.

According to staff of Road and Transportation Ministry the investigation teams have already recovered the data recorders of the flight and are now trying to assess the causes of this unfortunate accident.

Farsi agency reports that the plane crashed on farmland after a second attempt to land.

Official Iranian authorities said on Sunday that the plane was carrying 105 on board, including the crew members, and that 77 people were dead and 27 injured.

International media reports that Iran faces this kind of problem on regular basis, given that the planes they use are in poor condition and lack maintenance.

Many of the Boeing planes that fly in Iran were bought before the Islamic Revolution in  1979, when ties with major European countries were severed, thus making maintenance hard, if not impossible.

Ten days earlier a Tupolev plane caught fire in air in northern Iran, killing 168 people that were on board.

In July 2010, another plane went down in flames killing 17 passengers.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed condolences to the families and ordered the investigation into the causes of the accident.