TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian military aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from a Tehran airport on Monday, killing 36 people on board, state-run television reported. It said two people survived the crash of the Russian-designed Antonov-74 and were being treated in hospital.
The plane was being used by the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological wing of the Islamic Republic's military. A statement by the Guards, read on state television, said 30 Guards members and six crew were killed. "Two members of the Revolutionary Guards have also been injured and have been transferred to hospital," the statement said. Earlier, the television said all 38 on board were killed.
Iran's Mehr News Agency said the plane was burnt out and that the bodies of the dead were charred. Journalists saw ambulances, with sirens wailing, going to the airport but security officials barred entry to the crash site.
The television said the plane was headed for Shiraz, a city south of Tehran, when it crashed after taking off from Mehrabad airport, which is used for civilian and military flights. The Guards statement said the Guards members "were going to southern Iran on a mission" but gave no further details......