President Vladimir Putin sent a message of condolences, on Sunday noon, to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Ruhani over the crash of the passenger liner ATR-72 of Aseman Airlines in the central province of Iran Isfahan. This is stated in a message on the Kremlin website.
Putin stressed that Russia shared the grief of those who lost their relatives in a plane crash and wished them courage and fortitude at this hard time.
The 20-year-old ATR plane, which disappeared from radars on Sunday morning 50 minutes after taking off from Mehrabad Airport, crashed into Dena Mountain near Bideh village in the city of Semirom, according to Iranian officials.
Several helicopters have been deployed to search the crash site, and rescue operation is underway. However, the heavy fog in the area does not let the copters land.
While the plane’s wreckage has not been found yet, Aseman Airline’s Public Relations chief declared that it is very likely that all the people on board have lost their lives.
YNG/PR