国内英语新闻:Chinese FM offers condolences over air crash in Iran

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday offered condolences to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif over the crash of an Iranian passenger plane earlier in the day, in which all the 66 people aboard were killed.

In his message, Wang expressed deep condolences to the victims who lost life in the air tragedy and extended sincere sympathy towards their families.

An ATR-72 aircraft belonging to Iran Aseman Airlines on Sunday morning crashed in a foggy and mountainous region of southwestern Iran, killing all 66 people on board, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization said.

The twin-engine plane had disappeared from radar about 50 minutes after taking off from the capital city of Tehran, with 60 passengers and six crew members on board.

Due to rainy and misty conditions, rescue services couldn't reach the crash site in the Zagros Mountain Range and failed to locate the wreckage, state IRIB TV reported.