Iran begins recovering bodies from downed Aseman Airlines flight

Iran's rescue teams on Wednesday began recovering the bodies of a plane crash in the Dena mountains that was carrying 66 passengers, reported AFP.

No survivors have been found from the Aseman Airlines flight, which disappeared from radar on Sunday morning, just 45 minutes after departing from Tehran.

Search helicopters discovered the wreckage site on Tuesday, which was located 4,000 metres above ground.

The altitude and cold weather conditions had delayed authorities in landing on the mountain range and recovering bodies.

At first, rescue crews were forced to jump out of the hovering aircraft in their attempt to land.

"At the moment, we have a snowstorm and icy winds on the peaks and visibility is very low," said Nozar Nemati, the deputy commander of army ground forces.

"We decided that those bodies that can be carried down would be brought down by army commandos or by the emergency services," he added.

So far, 32 bodies have been discovered among the wreckage, said Mohsen Mehralizadeh, the governor of Ifsahan province, where the Dena range is located.

The first seven bodies were brought down the mountain range using special army commando vehicles on Wednesday morning, according to state TV.

The crash has reawakened concerns about aviation safety in Iran, which has been exacerbated by international sanctions.

Aseman Airlines was blacklisted by the European Commission in December 2016 – one of only three worldwide to be barred over safety concerns.

Officials said they are also hoping to recover the aircraft's "black box" to determine exactly what downed the flight.