At least 72 people were killed on Sunday evening when a Boeing 727 aircraft belonging to Iran Air crashed near the northwestern city of Orumiyeh and broke into pieces.

According to reports in Iran's state media, 33 people were injured in the crash. State television footage showed the airliner broken into three pieces which lay buried in thick snow.

A spokesman for Iran Air said that the cause of the crash is being looked into but the main cause was likely bad weather.