A Kiev-bound Ukrainian plane with 180 people on board, crashed on Wednesday shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital city of Tehran.

Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, said the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 went down in the vicinity of Parand, a city in Robat Karim county, reports Press TV.

He said the crash was likely due to technical difficulties, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Flight radar information showed that the Boeing 737 abruptly disappeared just after 6 a.m.

No further information immediately available. IANS