December 24, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 19, 1423

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TEHRAN, Dec 23: At least 44 people, mainly Ukrainians and some Russians, were killed on Monday when an Antonov plane travelling from Turkey to Iran crashed near the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

A spokesman for Iran’s civil aviation authority was quoted by state television as saying the plane crashed around 1600 GMT, adding that emergency services were at the crash site.

Iranian radio said there were 46 people on board the flight, identifying them as Ukrainian aeronautics industry officials travelling to Iran for an inaugural flight of the Iran-140, an Iranian-built plane that is the fruit of an Iranian-Ukrainian joint venture.

It said there were also several Russian nationals on the flight.

The plane went down in Isfahan province, near the village of Bagherabad, 70 kilometres from the town of Ardestan, the radio added.—AFP