OVER 70 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN killed after their plane crashed during extreme weather in northern Iran yesterday.

The IranAir Boeing 727 was travelling from the capital Tehran to Orumiyeh, 700km away.

Officials say it crashed near Orumiyeh at around 7.45pm local time yesterday because of adverse weather conditions. The severe weather also disrupted rescue efforts.

Iran’s deputy minister for transport said that the pilot was attempting to return to Tehran because the snowy weather was making it difficult for him to land at Orumiyeh, according to ISNA.

Images of the crash site show the plane broken into several parts.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran reports that this plane was one of the “very old kind of aircraft” still used by Iranian airlines and could be over 40 years old. The Boeing 727 has been out of production since the early 80s. ISNA reports that the 727s were delivered to Iran in 1974 as used planes.

Ongoing international sanctions have prevented Iran from accessing parts for its air fleet, and Iranian planes have been involved in a number of accidents in recent years, the BBC reports.

Iran’s Red Crescent said that some of the 26 injured people were in critical condition and warned that the death toll could increase.

[caption id="attachment_66362" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="(AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Esfandiar Asgharkhani)"][/caption]