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| - A Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran Wednesday killing all 176 people on board, in a disaster striking a region rattled by heightened military tensions. The crash -- which killed mainly Iranians and Canadians -- came shortly after Tehran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops, in response to the US killing a top Iranian general last week. There was no immediate indication of foul play over the plane crash and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against "speculating" on causes. An aviation risk monitoring group pointed to "obvious projectile like holes in the fuselage and a wing section," but Nick Waters, a senior investigator for Bellingcat, urged caution. At least some of the purported holes "actually appear to be small rocks or other debris in higher resolution images", he said on Twitter. Search-and-rescue teams combed through the smoking wreckage of the Boeing 737 flight from Tehran to Kiev but officials said there was no hope of finding anyone alive. The vast majority of the passengers on the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight were non-Ukrainians, including 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians, officials said. The US aviation authority said it had banned US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf, and airlines including Lufthansa and Air France suspended flights through Iraqi and Iranian airspace. Footage released by Iranian state media showed a field on fire and the smouldering wreck of the plane. Body bags were lined up on the ground and the passengers' personal items -- including luggage, clothes, a Santa Claus doll and a boxing glove -- were scattered in the debris. UIA, the ex-Soviet country's privately owned main carrier, said flight PS752 took off from Tehran airport at 6:10 am and disappeared from radars minutes later. It slammed into farmland at Khalaj Abad, in Shahriar county, about 45 kilometres (just under 30 miles) northwest of the airport, Iranian state media said. Iran's civil aviation authority said it would not hand the airliner's two black boxes over to Boeing or US authorities, but that Iran would cooperate with Ukraine. Without naming Iran directly, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for "complete cooperation with any investigation into the cause of the crash". Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Ottawa would work to ensure a thorough investigation. "This morning, I join Canadians across the country who are shocked and saddened" by the crash, he said. "Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that... (it) is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians' questions are answered." Passengers also included 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons, Ukraine's foreign minister said. Eleven Ukrainians -- including the nine crew -- were among the victims. Canada is home to a large Iranian expatriate community and UIA offers discount flights between Tehran and Toronto, transiting Kiev. UIA released a list of the names and birth years of passengers. At least 25 were under the age of 18. The airline said the Boeing 737 had been built in 2016 and checked only two days before the accident. It was Kiev-based UIA's first fatal crash. "The plane was in working order," UIA company president Yevgeniy Dykhne told a briefing in Kiev where he choked back tears. "It was one of our best planes with a wonderful crew." The airline is in part owned by Igor Kolomoisky, a controversial Ukrainian businessman with ties to Zelensky. The president, who cut short a vacation in Oman to return to Kiev, ordered an investigation into the crash and a sweeping check of "all civilian aircraft" in the country. "I ask everyone to keep from speculating and putting forth unconfirmed theories about the crash," Zelensky wrote on Facebook. Official Iranian media said the plane caught fire after crashing, but a video aired by the state broadcaster appeared to show it already on fire as it fell. Iran on Wednesday fired a volley of ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing American troops in the first action of its promised revenge for the US killing of a top Iranian general. "There is a lot of speculation at the moment it has been shot down -- I think that is not going to be the case at all," said Stephen Wright, a professor of aircraft systems at Tampere University in Finland. "Planes fly the same routes day in, day out," he said. "You don't tend to put... missiles next to international airways for obvious reasons." "It could be a bomb or it could be some sort of catastrophic breakup of the aircraft." The aircraft was not one of the MAX models fitted with anti-stall systems that have been linked with two other recent crashes of Boeing 737s. Boeing, which has been roiled by a nine-month crisis after the 737 MAX model was grounded, said it was ready to help in any way needed. UIA vice president Igor Sosnovskiy told reporters in Kiev the chances of a crew error "are minimal". A statement posted on the Ukrainian embassy website in Iran saying the crash was caused by an engine malfunction and ruling out an act of terror was later redacted. A Ukrainian source told AFP the statement had been changed because the embassy had used unverified reports. burs-mm/bmm/dwo/hkb
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