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Plane crashes at Iran airport, killing 17 - agency


    TEHRAN (Reuters) - Seventeen people were killed when a passenger aircraft caught fire while landing at the airport of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Friday, the state news agency IRNA reported.

    An airport official said there were 153 people on board the aircraft, which had flown to Mashhad from Tehran, and that 23 of them had been injured, according to the state broadcaster IRIB's website.

    "Seventeen people were killed ... after a passenger plane caught fire at an airport in Mashhad," IRNA said, adding that the remaining passengers had been evacuated.

    The plane, operated by Aria Tour, left the runway as it was landing and ran into a wall, state television said, putting the death toll at 16.

    The crash occurred at 6:20 p.m. (1350 GMT), media reports said.

    Earlier this month an Iranian plane flying to Armenia crashed in northwestern Iran, killing all 168 people aboard.