KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that there were no Malaysians on board Ukraine International Airlines aircraft that crashed in Iran yesterday.

"The ministry also wishes to convey its deepest condolences and sympathies to the family members and loved ones, as well as the countries of the passengers and crew members, who lost their lives in this tragedy,” it said in a statement here.

It was reported that the Boeing 737 plane carrying 176 people went down after taking off from Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran.

The Ukrainian plane was en route to Kyiv when it crashed, with debris and engine parts of the jetliner having been found some 10km from the airport to the west of Tehran, according to media reports. — Bernama