TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Civil Aviation Organization on Monday denied locating the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed on Sunday in central Iran.
"We do not confirm finding the wreckage of the passenger plane," an official in Aviation Operation Bureau of the organization told Xinhua on the phone.
Earlier on the day, some Iranian media quoted deputy governor of southwestern Iranian province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Jafar Gohargani, as saying that "the debris of Iranian ATR-72 plane was found on Monday in a region around Padena in central province of Isfahan."
"The news was based on the observation of a person," the official with Iran's Civil Aviation Organization told Xinhua refraining from confirming the reports.
In the meantime, the spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization on Monday did not confirm the reports of locating the wreckage of a passenger plane either, state IRIB TV reported.
The Iran Aseman Airlines plane took off from the capital Tehran at 08:00 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Sunday and disappeared from the radar screen 50 minutes later, in an area that is about 14 miles (22.4 km) from its destination Yasuj city.
The official reports confirmed the crash of the plane with 66 people on board.
Bad weather condition has hindered Iranian rescue teams' search for the wreckage of the plane.
