Ukrainian Plane Crash: Iran Says Passengers Were Alive for 19 Seconds After Missile Hit Airliner

On 8 January, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines crashed soon after departing from an airport in Tehran. The Iranian authorities said that the jet had been unintentionally shot down after military personnel confused it with a hostile target amid fears of US strikes.

The passengers of the Ukrainian Boeing were alive for 19 seconds after the first missile struck the airliner, Nournews reported on Sunday, citing Iran's Civil Aviation Agency.

According to the news agency, the head of the aviation authority has called on all nations involved in the crash investigation process to refrain from politicising the issue.

Some 176 people died after a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet was downed after takeoff from Iran’s Imam Khomeini Airport on 8 January.

People gather for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine plane crash, at the gate of Amri Kabir University that some of the victims of the crash were former students of, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Iran on Saturday, Jan. 11, acknowledged that its armed forces "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible.

© AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi

The Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down by Iranian military personnel, who confused it with a hostile cruise missile amid fears of US attacks after top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport on 3 January.

In July, Tehran agreed to pay compensation in connection with the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane. At the same time, the head of Iran’s Central Insurance Organisation argued that European insurance companies, rather than Tehran, should be responsible for covering costs related to the plane itself.