It was not immediately clear who owned the plane. A spokesman for Iran’s civil aviation told state TV that the plane belonged to Kyrgyzstan.

A spokeswoman for Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport said the plane, en route from Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport, belonged to Iran’s Payam Air.

“We don’t have clear information about the details of the crash,” said the head of Iran’s emergency department, Pirhossein Kolivand. Another official told Fars that 10 people were on board and that they were all feared killed.

The plane went down near Fath airport, near Karaj in the central Iranian province of Alborz.

Fars said the plane crash-landed after “mistaking the airport with another airfield because of the bad weather”.

Iranian state television showed a plume of smoke rising from the crash site.

TV said rescue teams had been sent to the area, between the airports of Fath and Payam.