Iranian fighter jet crashes, three killed

TEHRAN (AFP) – An Iranian fighter jet crashed Monday in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz killing three people, including two crew members.

The head of the local Red Crescent organisation said the plane smashed into a school and that one of the dead was a resident of the neighbourhood.

Local official Mohammad-Bagher Honarvar told state television that the school was closed at the time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He identified the plane as a F-5 fighter aircraft and said it went down at around 9:00 am (05:30 GMT) in the central Tabriz neighbourhood of Monajem.

An investigation is underway, the state broadcaster said.

The official news agency IRNA posted on its website video footage showing firefighters putting out a blaze at the crash site.

Iran's airforce has mostly Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets that date back to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft.

Some American F-4 and F-5 fighter jets dating back to before the 1979 and these are also part of its air fleet.