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They said he was dead, but a traffic jam had actually saved his life

Search teams look for the wreckage of the flight
Search teams look for the wreckage of the flight
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By Marios Ioannou
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One scheduled passenger had a lucky escape.

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A Greek seismologist who was initially counted among those killed in an Iranian plane crash has described how dense traffic prevented him from boarding the doomed flight.

Although the accident site has still not been located, a representative of Aseman Airlines declared on Sunday that all 66 passengers and crew had died. That number was later revised down to 65 when it was discovered that Akis Tselentis had never boarded the plane.

“I had planned to go to Yasouj on this flight, or the next if I missed it, but because of huge traffic jams in Tehran, I didn’t get on board the plane in the end,” Tselentis told the Athens News Agency.

“Phone calls are very difficult here and I couldn’t even contact my family for hours," he added.

Tselentis says he hopes to return home within a week.

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