A horrific video has emerged on social media showing a warplane crash in Tabriz, located in the East Azarbaijan province of Iran. The crash happened on Monday.
Iran's Air Force is in possession of various US-made military aircraft which were bought prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The F5s were inducted by Iran in early 1970s. The country also has Russian-made MiG and Sukhoi planes in its fleet of warplanes.
Did the warplane Crash in a Sports Stadium?
Mehr News Agency reported that the fighter aircraft's crash was disclosed by the spokesperson at the Shahid Fakoori airbase in Tabriz.
According to the report, the cause of the incident is being investigated and full details of the incident have not been announced yet. The outlet further reported that according to the Managing Director of the Red Crescent of East Azerbaijan, three people were killed in this incident.
Iranian journalist Babak Taghvaee tweeted that the warplane was a F-5F Tiger II fighter jet. "#BREAKING; Unfortunately, a F-5F Tiger II fighter jet of #Iran Air Force crashed into Shahid Alipur sports center in #Tabriz due to technical failure a few minutes ago. The pilot did his best to avoid hitting the residential area of the city but the aircraft finally stalled & crashed."
"Sadenned to hear that both student pilot & instructor pilot lost their lives in crash of the F-5F Tiger II combat-trainer aircraft of #Iranian Air Force in #Tabriz, Northwest of #Iran. A number of people are killed & injured in the sports center as well," he tweeted.
Video Shows Parts of Crashed Warplane
The video accompanying the tweet shows firefighters and locals trying to extinguish the huge flames of fire that engulfed the building. The parts of the fighter jet are also seen scattered around. A badly damaged car parked outside the building is also visible in the video.
In June too, Iran lost two of its pilots after the US-made F-5 plane, which they were flying, developed a "technical problem" and crashed. The incident took place at the Dezfu airbase located 444 kilometers (270 miles) from Tehran. The deceased pilots were identified as Kianoush Basati and Hossein Nami.
Iran International had claimed that there were conflicting reports on the manner of the crash. "The report said an investigation was underway as to what had caused the malfunction of the Iranian air force's F-5 fighter jet. The TV said it happened before takeoff. It did not elaborate," the outlet claimed.
