Bahram Qassemi expressed his deep sorrow for the sad event and sympathized with the bereaved families of the victims.

Russian passenger jet crashed several minutes after takeoff from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board, Russia’s Air Transport Agency confirmed.

“Fragments of the An-148 and several bodies have been found near the village of Stepanovskoye,” the agency said in a statement released by the state-run TASS news agency. A cockpit recorder and parts of the fuselage were retrieved from the crash site, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported.

Authorities said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, including whether the tragedy was terror-related. Preliminary reports indicated the pilots did not report any technical problems or activate a mayday call, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered establishment of a special commission to investigate the crash, and Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said a criminal investigation had been launched.