A charred tail fin from a small Iranian passenger plane lies in the middle of a road.

The aircraft, which was heading to the city of Tabas, came down near Mehrabad airport shortly after takeoff.

It crashed in the west of the capital in this residential area.

There were 48 passengers and crew on board, most of them died, including infants and children.

The pilot detected technical issues four minutes after taking off and tried to return to the airport.

The plane's black box has yet to be found.

Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes, which its politicians blame on international sanctions that block the airlines from replacing ageing aircraft and servicing parts.