Ukraine suspends its flights over Iran airspace – PM Honcharuk

Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk stated this at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“Until the causes of this tragedy are identified, we have decided to suspend the operation of Ukrainian airlines in the airspace of Iran. As soon as the causes are identified, the decision will be reconsidered,” Honcharuk said.

According to him, the Ukrainian side is trying to gather official information on all the circumstances of the plane crash.

As reported, the Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time).

According to the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, there were 177 people on board: 168 passengers and nine crew members. Among those killed, there were eleven citizens of Ukraine, including two passengers and nine crew members. Also, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, among the victims were nationals of Iran (82), Canada (63), Sweden (10), Afghanistan (4), Germany (3), the UK (3).

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine launched a pretrial investigation into the plane crash.

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