UPDATE - Iran recovers black box of crashed Turkish plane

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT OF TURKISH ARMED FORCES, TOTAL NUMBER OF BODIES RECOVERED

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali

ISTANBUL (AA) - The black box of the private Turkish passenger jet that crashed in southwestern Iran Sunday was recovered on Monday, according to an Iranian official.

According to Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) report, seven bodies were recovered from Zagros Mountains, 370 kilometers (230 miles) south of capital Tehran, where the crash happened.

All 11 aboard the aircraft are dead, according to the ISNA.

In a statement issued on Monday, Turkish Armed Forces said a plane -- carrying Prime Ministry's Disaster and Relief Agency personnel -- has been sent to the crash site for wreck removal works.

The ISNA reported earlier that the Istanbul-bound plane had taken off from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and crashed in Kiyar district of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.

Among the 11 were eight passengers and three crew members.

The crashed plane belonged to Huseyin Basaran, owner of Basaran Holding -- one of Turkey's prominent companies involved in energy, food and tourism, finance and construction sectors.

Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Deputy Governor Cafer Meydani told IRNA the black box of the crashed plane was found in Helen Mountains in Kiyar district.

Iranian Emergency Management Organization spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi said villagers had found the wreckage of the plane, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).

Khaledi confirmed the plane had hit a mountain, adding that DNA tests would be needed to identify the bodies.

Kiyar District Governor Kademali Merdani earlier said 50 mountaineers were being sent to the area to provide help in the search-and-rescue operations, according to Iranian Tasnim news agency.

In a statement on late Sunday, Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications had said a team from Turkey would go the crash site in Iran.

The ministry had identified the plane as a Canadair CL604, tail number TC-TRB. It also said the aircraft crashed shortly after making a call about an unspecified "technical failure".

The plane vanished from radar at around 1440 GMT Sunday after it took off at 1330 GMT, according to the Turkish ministry.