5 min ago
Ukrainian foreign minister: Last words of pilot of was "peaceful and that everything was okay"
From CNN's Sebastian Shukla and Clarissa Ward
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko CNN
The last words of the pilot of the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran were “peaceful and that everything was okay,” according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko.
In an interview with CNN and CNN affiliate CTV, Prystaiko said that Ukrainian investigators have access to the recording of the control tower and to the Ukrainian International Airlines crew "before something happened."
25 min ago
Ukrainian investigators are still missing parts of the plane to "check for chemical residue"
From CNN's Sebastian Shukla and Clarissa Ward
AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian investigators on the ground in Iran are still “missing very important parts of the plane to check for chemical residue," which would allow them to "indicate there was some chemical used in explosives," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said in an interview with CNN and its affiliate CTV in Kiev today.
Prystaiko said that Ukrainian investigators were missing the chairs from the aircraft but that they “were starting to get them from Iranian authorities.”
44 min ago
Ukrainian airliner is being "reconstructed" in a hanger in Iran
From CNN's Seb Shukla and Clarissa Ward
The Ukrainian International Airlines plane is being reconstructed in a hanger in Iran, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has confirmed in an interview to CNN and CNN affiliate CTV.
“Ukrainian investigators were missing particular things of the plane. Most of these are in our possession now, in a special hanger given to our team where the plane is being reconstructed as we speak," Prystaiko said.
The foreign minister went on to say that on Ukraine’s insistence local police have cleared the area of locals and that “at least we have remnants of people and the plane respected.”
Earlier there had been reports of locals picking through the debris and looting parts of the wreckage, which had disturbed the Ukrainians.
57 min ago
Iran will announce the cause of the plane crash tomorrow
From CNN’s Claudia Otto in Tehran
Iranian and foreign delegations will meet tomorrow to review the findings of their investigation into the crash of Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752, Iran's semi-official Fars News reported on Friday.
The cause of the crash will be announced at that time.
“There will be a meeting and after the review of the initial findings, the cause of the crash of the plane will be published,” the report said.
42 min ago
Ukrainian security service urges public not to jump into "hasty conclusions" about the crash
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is “reviewing" a missile hit and a terrorist attack as possible explanations behind the plane crash but urges everyone not to “jump into hasty conclusions,” Ivan Bakanov, the head of the service, said in statement on Friday.
“Indeed, the version that a missile of a Tor anti-aircraft missile system hit [the plane] is attracting the greatest public attention today. However, it’s enough to open the manual for a surface-to-air missile system to raise a number of questions that need further answers,” Bakanov said.
Bakanov said his agency is “carefully analyzing the information,” pointing towards the plane crash having been the result of a potential terrorist attack. He urged the public not to jump into “hasty conclusions.”
Some context: Bakanov's comments come a day after leaders of the UK and Canada said they have intelligence saying the Ukrainian plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
A video that appears to show a missile being fired into the Tehran sky and striking an object, around the same time that a Ukrainian plane crashed just after taking off from the city's airport, surfaced Thursday.
“In today's new reality, when social networks generate new competitive meanings and ideas for all of humanity, they often replace government institutions and law enforcement agencies," Bakanov said. “It is important to keep the ability to think and draw conclusions based on facts not fakes. We need to be patient and wait for the results of the investigation by the evidence-based competent authorities.”