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agencies
Tehran
Two pilots and one civilian were killed when a military plane crashed in Iran on Monday.
According to the Ilna news agency, the F-5 aircraft crashed into a school in the city of Tabriz in the north-west of the country. There were no students in the building because classes are currently out of session due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The civilian killed was a motorist travelling nearby, according to the report.
The cause of the accident was initially unclear. The authorities are investigating.
Local army official Reza Yousefi lauded the two pilots for “sacrificing” themselves as they managed to avoid residential areas and land the plane in an open area next to a sports complex. In addition to hitting the civilian’s car, the plane hit the side of a school that was empty due to COVID-19 restrictions, he said.
“These two pilots laid down their lives so the plane wouldn’t hit residential areas. They could have ejected but they stayed and managed to veer it toward a non-residential area,”
Yousefi said. An army spokesman confirmed Yousefi’s account and said the incident took place at approximately 8am (04:30 GMT), and identified the pilots as Sadegh Falahi and Alireza Hanifehzad.
Tehran
Two pilots and one civilian were killed when a military plane crashed in Iran on Monday.
According to the Ilna news agency, the F-5 aircraft crashed into a school in the city of Tabriz in the north-west of the country. There were no students in the building because classes are currently out of session due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The civilian killed was a motorist travelling nearby, according to the report.
The cause of the accident was initially unclear. The authorities are investigating.
Local army official Reza Yousefi lauded the two pilots for “sacrificing” themselves as they managed to avoid residential areas and land the plane in an open area next to a sports complex. In addition to hitting the civilian’s car, the plane hit the side of a school that was empty due to COVID-19 restrictions, he said.
“These two pilots laid down their lives so the plane wouldn’t hit residential areas. They could have ejected but they stayed and managed to veer it toward a non-residential area,”
Yousefi said. An army spokesman confirmed Yousefi’s account and said the incident took place at approximately 8am (04:30 GMT), and identified the pilots as Sadegh Falahi and Alireza Hanifehzad.
