150 dead as airliner crashes in Iran

An airliner carrying 150 people crashed in Iran today killing all on board.

State television said the flight by the national Caspian Airlines was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan and crashed near the city of Qazvin.

Qazvin emergency services director Hossein Bahzadpour said the plane was completely destroyed and the wreckage was in flames.

Caspian Airlines is a Russian-Iranian joint venture founded in 1993.

Iran has frequent plane crashes, which it blames on US sanctions on the country that prevent it from getting spare parts for ageing planes.

Caspian Airlines, however, uses Russian-made aircraft whose maintenance would be less affected by sanctions.