Iranian passenger plane crashes:: 40 dead

An Iranian plane carrying 40 passengers crashed in a residential area after taking off from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Sunday morning, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the Iranian Red Crescent Society and its own reporter. Initial reports were that 40 passengers, including seven children, were killed in the crash, IRNA reported. No information was available on whether anyone on the ground was killed or injured. The plane was bound for Tabas in northeastern Iran and crashed into the Azad residential block on Mina 6 Boulevard, it reported. IRNA reported that an engine shutdown caused the crash. Iran's aviation sector has suffered repeated crashes which have been blamed by Iranian politicians on international sanctions, according to Reuters.