Boeing 707 cargo plane crashes in Iran

A Boeing 707 cargo plane flying from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has crashed in Iran’s Alborz province after it overshot the runway during landing.

The aircraft with 16 people on board crashed and caught fire near the city of Karaj on Monday morning while attempting to land in the wrong airport.

“A (Boeing) cargo 707 place carrying meat took off from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan and had an emergency landing at Fath airport this morning,” the Iranian Army said in a statement on its website.

The head of Iran’s emergency department, Pirhossein Kolivand, said the bodies of seven people had been found. At least one crew member is reported to have survived the crash and is now receiving treatment in hospital.

Iranian news agencies say it was a military cargo plane carrying meat from Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek.

Initial reports suggested that the plane was due to arrive at Karaj’s Payam Airport but the pilot took the plane to the Fath airfield by mistake, which is not suited for large cargo aircraft.

The pilot then lost control of the plane, ran out of the runway and hit the walls that separate the airport from neighboring residential areas. There were unconfirmed reports of damage to some residential facilities as well.

Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CAO.IRI), told Tasnim news agency that the plane had “caught fire” but the extent of damage was not clear.