Iran's FM spokeswoman condoles with Russians over plane crash victims

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham extended her condolences to the Russian nation on the death of their beloved ones in the recent passenger plane crash in Kazan city in Russia’s Tatarstan. In her message, Afkham expressed the sympathy of the Iranian government and nation for the Russian government and nation over the Sunday night plane crash. A Boeing 737 jetliner crashed and burst into flames Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard in the latest in a string of deadly crashes across the country. The Tatarstan Airlines plane was trying to make a second landing attempt when it touched the surface of the runway near the control tower, and was "destroyed and caught fire," said Sergei Izvolky, the spokesman for the Russian aviation agency. The Emergencies Ministry said there were 44 passengers and six crew members aboard the evening flight from Moscow and all had been killed. Kazan, a city of about 1.1 million and the capital of the Tatarstan republic, is about 450 miles East of the capital. The ministry released a list of the dead, which included Irek Minnikhanov, the son of Tatarstan's governor, and Alexander Antonov, who headed the Tatarstan branch of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.