Passenger Plane Catches Fire on Landing in Iran; 80 Dead
A plane with 147 people on board caught fire as it was landing Friday in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, killing 80 people, state TV reported.
A tire blew out as the Russian-made TU-154 was landing, sparking the blaze, the report said. No crew members died in the fire, and the other passengers were evacuated, state TV said.
The fire was under control and investigators were at the scene, state TV said. It did not say it the blaze had been extinguished.
The flight run by Iran Airtour, which is affiliated to Iran's national air carrier, originated in Bandar Abbas in the south of the country.
Some 12 million pilgrims visit Mashhad, about 620 miles northeast of Tehran, annually for its Shiite Islamic shrines.
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