An Iranian airlines Boeing 707 carrying 157 passengers skidded off a runway at Tehran’s airport and caught fire Wednesday, killing a child and injuring several other people, state-run television reported.
The station had initially reported 50 dead in the crash of the Saha Airlines plane, then said scores were killed before downgrading the toll to 1.
Television reports said the landing gear of the jetliner failed to open and the plane caught fire after making a hard landing, its nose and wing slamming into the runway.
State TV quoted the airline’s managing director, identified only by his last name, Nikokar, saying a child was killed.
“Only one person has been killed, and a number of passengers have been injured,” television quoted Nikokar as saying.
Reports said part of the plane’s fuselage plunged into a river, but passengers were able to jump out of the craft. The injured, many of whom suffered broken bones, have been taken to Tehran hospitals for treatment, the television said.
The broadcaster said the plane landed at 10:15 p.m. and the fire erupted minutes later. It said the aircraft carried 157 people, including eight children, and had flown in from the tourist island of Kish in the Persian Gulf.
Saha Airline Services is owned by the Iranian military but also operates civilian flights. It was not known whether military personnel were aboard Wednesday’s flight.
