A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people has crashed near Tehran shortly after take-off, with rescue officials ruling out the chance of finding survivors.

Flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800, stopped sending data almost immediately after leaving Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday morning, and wreckage was found between Parand and Shahriar towns, a civil aviation spokesperson said.

Appearing on Iranian state TV, rescue officials said they believed all those on board had been killed in the crash.

A statement released by the Ukrainian Security Council said that 168 passengers and 9 crew were registered for the flight. Two of those registered to fly did not board the plane. There were three British nationals among the dead — Sam Kokaei, Khademasa Tahmasebi and Mohamed Kadkhoda-Zadeh — but the vast majority of those on board were Iranian (82) and Canadian (63).

The plane left took off at 6:12 am, losing contact two minutes later. According to Iranian media, the pilot did not send any distress signal back to the control tower.

Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers search the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane with more than 170 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran TOPSHOT - People and rescue teams are pictured amid the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on January 8, 2020, killing everyone on board. - The Boeing 737 had left Tehran's international airport bound for Kiev, semi-official news agency ISNA said, adding that 10 ambulances were sent to the crash site. (Photo by Rouhollah VAHDATI / ISNA / AFP) (Photo by ROUHOLLAH VAHDATI/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images) ROUHOLLAH VAHDATI ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of an Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Debris of a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines, that crashed after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, is seen on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY WANA NEWS AGENCY West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers search the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue team work at the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran CORRECTS YEAR - Debris is seen from a plane crash on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying at least 170 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehranâ€™s main airport, killing all onboard, state TV reported. (AP Photos/Mohammad Nasiri) Mohammad Nasiri AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Debris is seen from an Ukrainian plane which crashed as rescue workers search the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP

The crash came just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missile strikes at two US bases in Iraq.

Iranian state officials were quick to assign cause to technical issues, and there was no indication at this early stage that the two events were linked.

Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation Ministry, said the pilot “lost control of the plane” after a fire broke out in one of its engines.

Initially, a statement on the website of Ukraine's Iranian embassy appeared to support that interpretation. It suggested the plane crashed "as a result of technical malfunction of an engine," and ruled out the "possibility of a terror attack or missile strike." Later, the statement was removed with no explanation.

A photo published by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency showed rescue officials in a farm field, with what appeared to be pieces of the aircraft laying nearby.

Another state-run news agency published what appeared to be footage of the aircraft in its final moments, showing a liner engulfed in flames before exploding on impact.

Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) were founded in 1992 and are partly owned by the controversial oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. They operate a fleet of 42 aircraft, with an average age of 11 years. While many airlines in the former Soviet Union are considered to be patchy on safety, UIA were considered to have an excellent record, with no fatal incidents up to today. The plane involved was only three years old.

A spokesman for Ukrainian International said that the plane had undergone its last scheduled safety inspection just two days ago, on 6 January.

"Ukrainian International Airlines have taken the decision to suspend flights to Iran until further notice," the spokesman added.

The Boeing 737-800 itself a very common single-aisle, twin-engine jetliner used for short to medium-range flights. Thousands of the planes are used by airlines around the world.

Introduced in the late 1990s, it is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following two deadly crashes.

A number of 737-800 aircraft have been involved in deadly accidents over the years.

In March 2016, a Flydubai 737-800 from Dubai crashed while trying to land at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia, killing 62 onboard. Another 737-800 flight from Dubai, operated by Air India Express, crashed in May 2010 while trying to land in Mangalore, India, killing more than 150 onboard.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed condolences to the families of the victims.