Black Box of Turkish Plane and Bodies of All Victims Found

Media in Iran report, citing responsible officials, that the black box of the Turkish plane that crashed in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province has been found and handed over to law enforcement authorities. The bodies of all 11 occupants of this plane have also been located. Jafar Mardani, the political and security deputy of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari governor, announced this news on Tuesday, March 21, stating that the black box was transferred to the foothills of Mount Helen in the Dork Anari area and handed over to law enforcement officials stationed at the accident site. Abdolreza Ali-Mohammadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, also reported the delivery of "two black boxes discovered from the Turkish plane" to law enforcement. According to Mr. Ali-Mohammadi, the black box has been handed over to judicial authorities in the Nagan district and will be transferred to the country's aviation organization after legal procedures are completed. The political and security deputy of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari governor also reported the transfer of "10 identified bodies by helicopters from Khuzestan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad to Shahrekord airport for legal procedures." ISNA also reported that the body of the last occupant of this plane has been found and transferred to the foothills of the mountain. The private Turkish jet carried 11 female passengers, including Mina Basharan, the daughter of the famous Turkish businessman Hussein Basharan, which crashed on Sunday, March 20, while passing through Iranian airspace near Shahrekord in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, killing all on board. This plane had three flight crew members and eight passengers. Two of the passengers were reported to be Spanish nationals, while the rest were Turkish citizens. The families of the victims of this incident also arrived at Shahrekord airport on Tuesday morning to carry out legal formalities and transfer the bodies, accompanied by the deputy ambassador of Turkey. Given the burning and dismemberment of the bodies, Iran's forensic medicine has announced its readiness to conduct DNA tests from the families of the victims of this incident. It has been reported that a group of technical experts from Turkey is also on its way to the accident site to investigate its dimensions. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization also issued a statement after the crash of the Turkish plane, announcing that the flight entered Iranian airspace at 16:59 local time and crashed around 18:09 local time. According to this statement, based on the pilot's communications with the Iranian air traffic control center, he requested a descent due to a technical problem, and while descending at about 32,000 feet, the plane disappeared from the radar amid a severe speed drop. The Iranian aviation organization announced that the responsibility for investigating the accident, according to international regulations, lies with Iran, while Turkey, as the country of registration of the aircraft, and Canada, as the designer and manufacturer, can also request cooperation in the investigation process. This aircraft was a Bombardier CL-604, flying from Sharjah to Istanbul, and according to the spokesperson for the Iranian aviation organization, it crashed due to an engine fire. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, expressed deep regret over this incident shortly after the crash.