Two black boxes recovered from Iran plane wreck

TWO badly damaged black box recorders have been recovered from a Tupolev aircraft that crashed in Iran on Wednesday, killing all 168 people on board.

The cause of the worst air disaster in the Islamic Republic for six years was still unknown. Reports quoted Deputy Transport Minister Ahmad Majidi as saying it was “likely due to technical problems” as the pilot was experienced.

The Russian-built Caspian Airlines aircraft was on its way to neighbouring Armenia’s capital Yerevan when it came down after catching fire 16 minutes after departing Tehran.

Caspian Airlines said the plane had a full technical check in Russia about a month ago and permission for flying was extended until 2010. The aircraft exploded on impact and left scattered bits of metal and fragments of the bodies of 153 passengers and 15 crew across a wide area around a deep smoking crater. Relatives gathered at the site and threw flowers in the crater where the victims perished.