Three people were killed after an Iranian fighter jet crashed near a school as footage showed the wreckage of a fireball inside the sports arena

A MILITARY plane crashed near a school – killing both their pilot and at least one other person.

An F-5 fighter jet crashed into a gymnasium in Tabriz, Iran, igniting a large blaze, with footage showing fragments of the fireball.

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Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the third person who died in the crash was in his car at the time.

According to local military official Reza Yousefi, the plane was being used for training and crashed due to a technical problem.

He told Al Jazeera: “These two pilots gave their lives so that the plane would not crash into residential areas.

“They could have pushed out but they stayed and managed to move it to an unpopulated area.”

Military spokesman Shahin Taqi-Khani said the school was closed at the time of the accident just before 9am local time.

He said a technical fault appeared to be the cause of the problem, but an investigation was underway.

The pilot and a trainee pilot were killed, he added, as well as a civilian passing by in the car.

Experts say Iran has a poor air-safety record, with numerous crashes, many involving US-made planes purchased before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The United States, which severed diplomatic ties in 1980 after Iranian students took American diplomats hostage, imposed sanctions on Iran, making it difficult for Tehran to buy spare parts for its planes. military and civilian.

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