Iran Plane Crash Death Toll Rises to 77

Aircraft broke apart in emergency landing in snowy field
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2011 1:22 AM CST
72 Killed in Iran Plane Crash
The crumpled wreck of an IranAir Boeing 727 passenger plane lies outside the city of Orumiyeh following a crash during an emergency landing.   (AP Photo/IRNA, Ali Asghar Shadjou)

The death toll in last night's IranAir crash has risen to 77, as investigators reported that they had found the jet's black box, reports the AP. Severe weather was hampering rescue operations, but several of the 27 surviving passengers had already been transported to nearby hospitals. The toll on the Boeing 727 en route from Tehran could have been much higher, but "fortunately, the plane didn't explode upon impact," and the crash likely happened close to the ground as the plane attempted to make an emergency landing en route to the northwest city of Orumiyeh, according to an Iranian official.
(More Tehran stories.)

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