Sharjah: Forty four people, including 12 Indians, onboard an Iranian plane were killed when it crashed and burst into flames just before landing at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today (Feb 10, 2004).

Two of the 46 passengers and crew on board the Dutch-built Fokker 50 of Kish Air, which had taken off from Iranian island of Kish, were battling for life in hospital in Sharjah, officials said.

Among the dead were 19 Iranians, 12 Indians, four Egyptians, two Filipinos, two Algerians and one each from Bangladesh, China, Nigeria and Syria. Identity of one person is yet to be ascertained, AFP quoting Sharjah police reported.

UAE's official WAM news agency said 33 charred bodies have been recovered from the crash site.

The plane with a crew of six crashed at 11:00 hrs local time (12:30 hrs IST) in an isolated area between the emirates of Sharjah and Ajman just about five kilometres North of the Sharjah international airport, WAM said quoting sources at the airport.

Local television networks showed rescue workers looking for survivors in the burning wreckage of the aircraft and a row of bodies covered in red blankets.

An official Iranian statement said 27 passengers on board were from countries other than Iran. The passengers of the ill-fated plane included a child also.

Kish is a favourite destination for foreigners because the cheap and short flights, which are very basic in terms of facilities, carry passengers with visit visa out of the country and bring them back to fulfil a mandatory residence visa requirement.

There have been demands that these flights should be scrapped. On any such flights many Indians are usually present.