Up To 10 Dead In Iran Runway Collision

A military transport plane and civilian jetliner collided Wednesday on the runway of Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, leaving up to 10 people dead.

Casualty reports varied, with the official Islamic Republic News Agency reporting 10 dead while state television reported six fatalities.

The accident occurred when a U.S.-built C-130 military transport plane speeding along the runway for takeoff collided with an Iran Air passenger jet being towed into a hangar for maintenance.

The passenger plane, an Airbus-300, had only airport workers aboard.

IRNA quoted the civil aviation department as saying both planes caught fire on the tarmac. It took firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish the flames.

The head of Iran's civil aviation, Behzad Mazaheri, told IRNA the collision took place when an airforce C-130 Hercules aircraft was preparing to take off on a training flight.

"It experienced technical problems and when it diverted from its path it collided with an Airbus-300," he said.

IRNA said the airport remained open but planes were being diverted to a part of the runway that was not normally used for commercial flights.

Mehrabad is used for both civilian and military aircraft. Pilots have complained frequently about near-collisions, especially during Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq when military flights were numerous. Its parallel runways can endanger civilian flights when warplanes are taxiing for takeoff or practicing midair maneuvers.

More than 130 people were killed in 1993, when an Iranian airliner collided with an air force jet after takeoff from Mehrabad.