Iran talks about the crashed plane: an air fire and a crash on the ground

The crew abruptly lifted the emergency

Iranian investigators said, Thursday, that the crew of the Ukrainian plane that crashed yesterday had made no contact to call for help, and was trying to return to the airport when the plane crashed.

The Iranian Civil Aviation Authority said this in a preliminary report on the accident today, Thursday, after all 176 passengers on the plane were killed on Wednesday.

The report indicated that the crew suddenly lifted the state of emergency aboard the plane "Boeing 737" - belonging to the Ukrainian Airlines - on Wednesday morning, when it crashed moments after take off from Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.

The Iranian commission's investigators have given no explanation for the disaster.

The report said that witnesses - including the crew of another plane that flew later - said they saw the plane burning before it crashed.

Investigators added that the fire completely engulfed the plane before it crashed. They stated that the crash was caused by a massive explosion when the plane collided with the ground, because it was full of fuel in order to reach Kiev directly.

The report also confirmed that the plane's two black boxes were found, despite being damaged and some parts of their memories lost. He also said that investigators initially excluded laser or electromagnetic interference as a cause of the accident.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky said investigators from his country had arrived in Iran to help with the investigation.

He added that he intended to contact Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss it about the accident and the investigation.

"Without a doubt, the priority for Ukraine is to determine the causes of the crash. We will definitely find out the truth," he added.

The plane was carrying 167 passengers from several countries and nine crew members. Among the dead were 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukraine.

The crash occurred right after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi military bases that include American forces, amid a confrontation with Washington over the killing of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general in a drone airstrike last week.

It is noteworthy that most of the plane's passengers were students of several nationalities studying at Canadian universities, and were on their way back to Toronto via Kiev after a family visit during the winter vacation.