A Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane with at least 170 people on board crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran International Airport, the Iranian news agencies Fars and ISNA reported.

The Iranian Red Crescent says, according to Reuters, that there is no hope that anyone on board has survived the accident.

The plane, from Ukraine International Airlines, was bound for Kiev in Ukraine but had barely taken off from Imam Khomeini Airport before it crashed, according to the agencies due to technical problems.

”"The plane is on fire, but we have sent rescue workers there, and we may be able to save some passengers," Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran's emergency services, told domestic television shortly after the accident.

He later added:

”The fire is so strong that we can’t save anyone.”

According to Al-Jazeera, the plane was supposed to take off at 5:15 a.m. local time, but the departure was delayed by an hour.

Source: TT