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Iranian fighter jet crashes, 3 killed

The head of the local Red Crescent organisation says the plane smashed into a school and that one of the dead was a resident of the neighbourhood.

AFP
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A handout picture provided by the news agency Tasnim on Feb 21 shows firefighters putting out a blaze at the crash site of a fighter jet in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz. Photo: AFP
A handout picture provided by the news agency Tasnim on Feb 21 shows firefighters putting out a blaze at the crash site of a fighter jet in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz. Photo: AFP

An Iranian fighter jet crashed Monday in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz killing three people, including two crew, state television reported.

The head of the local Red Crescent organisation said the plane smashed into a school and that one of the dead was a resident of the neighbourhood.

Local official Mohammad-Bagher Honarvar told state television that the school was closed at the time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He identified the plane as a F-5 fighter aircraft and said it went down at around 9am (0530 GMT) in the central Tabriz neighbourhood of Monajem.

An investigation is underway, the state broadcaster said.

The official news agency IRNA posted on its website video footage showing firefighters putting out a blaze at the crash site.

Iran’s airforce has mostly Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets that date back to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft.

Some American F-4 and F-5 fighter jets dating back to before the 1979 Islamic revolution are also part of its air fleet.