BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Those responsible for the crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane near the city of Parand in Iran's Tehran province on Jan. 8 should be punished, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a statement, Trend reports with reference to the web portal of the Iranian presidential administration.
Investigations into the cause of the tragedy should be continued and the result should be made known to the Iranian people and the families of the victims, Rouhani said.
Previously, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran released a statement saying that the Ukrainian aircraft was unintentionally shot down, due to a human error.
"Necessary steps should be taken to investigate the shortcomings of Iran's air defense systems so that no such tragedy will be repeated, the Iranian president added.
Rouhani has instructed the Iranian Foreign Ministry to fully cooperate to identify the bodies of the victims and return them to their families.
The Iranian president offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the tragedy.
The Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport in Iran on Jan. 8. There were 167 passengers and 9 crew members on board. The passengers of the plane were citizens of Iran, Canada, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine, while the crew members were all Ukrainians.
The plane crashed shortly after taking off.