No Sign of Sabotage in Antonov-74

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Tuesday ruled out the possibility of sabotage in the Antonov-74 which crashed on Monday.

Addressing a large congregation of the IRGC troops, bereaved families and people in the funeral procession of the 36 IRGC members who lost their lives in the incident, Major General Seyed Yahya Rahim Safavi said that investigations have concluded no sign of conspiracy or sabotage in the plane.

“It has so far been proved that the technical defect in the plane should be claimed responsible for the crash of the Antonov-74, but a detailed report on the exact causes and defects of the plane requires more time,” he said.

An Antonov 74 aircraft belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, carrying 32 passengers and 6 crews, crashed at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport at 07:10 hours Monday morning.

The aircraft was destined for Shiraz-Bandar Abbas in the south of the country when a technical defect occurred in its engine and crashed at the end of Mehrabad airport’s runway when taking off.

The passengers on board the aircraft were said to be mainly the family members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces.

Only two of the 38 crews and passengers survived the crash. The two are now hospitalized due to severe injuries.