Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- At least 70 people died but dozens more survived Sunday night when an IranAir passenger jet en route from Tehran to the northwest city of Orumiyeh attempted to make an emergency landing in a snowy field, according to an account pieced together by officials.
"The number of fatalities is expected to rise," said the chief coroner, identified solely as Orumiyeh, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
Severe weather at the site was making rescue operations difficult, he told the news agency.
Vahid Jalaladeh, governor general of Western Azerbaijan Province, told the official news agency Islamic Republic News Agency, that 102 passengers and crew members were aboard the Boeing 727.
But, as is often the case with such disasters, the numbers in initial reports varied.
Fifty to 60 people were taken from the plane with injuries, the Mehr news agency quoted Gholam Reza Masoomi, the head of Iran's Emergency Services, as saying.
"Fortunately, reports say that the plane did not explode upon impact," and the crash may have happened as the plane was nearing its destination and close to the ground, the news agency quoted him as saying. CNN
