Update: Turkish Heiress And Friends Killed In Jet Crash

The latest update in the case of the downed Turkish jet that crashed in Iran Sunday has all eight passengers and three crew dead. The jet was flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates back to Istanbul when it was downed in the Zagros Mountains. Mina Basaran, a Turkish heiress and seven of her friends have been identified as the passengers. The "hen party" was to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Mina, the daughter of Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran.

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At this point in time, the cause of the crash is still unknown. According to Irna, an Iranian state news agency, the plane's black box has been recovered, however. Basaran, 28, had been posting photos of the trip to her Instagram account which has more than 65,000 followers. The last picture posted was on Saturday and featured the eight women posing in pink and white bathrobes in a Dubai hotel.

Sunday afternoon, the party boarded the Huseyin Basaran's company jet at Sharjah International Airport. The two pilots and the one flight attendant were also women according to Turkish media. According to eyewitness accounts, the plane was already on fire before it crashed near the city of Shahr-e Kord, just about 230 miles south of Tehran. Isan, another Iranian news agency, reported the Iranian civil aviation officials stating that the pilot had requested to fly at a lower altitude due to technical issues. All 11 bodies of the passengers and crew were recovered from the scene during a 15-hour operation involving 80 people according to a local Red Crescent official, Reza Zaheri.

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43364579