Tehran [Iran], March 12: The daughter of a business tycoon and bride-to-be Mina Basaran, along with her seven friends, were onboard the Turkish private jet which crashed in a mountainous region of Iran on Sunday. The plane, which was reportedly travelling from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Istanbul, was flying the 28-year-old heiress of businessman Huseyin Basaran back from her hen party.

The group had been celebrating in Dubai ahead of her wedding, scheduled for next month. Turkey's Haber Turk website stated that Mina was to marry businessman Murat Gezer on April 14 in a grand ceremony at Istanbul's Cirali Palace. According to the Khaleej Times, besides the eight friends, three female crew members were onboard the plane.

The jet is reported to have encountered heavy, rainy weather, crashed into a mountain and burst into flames. The plane hit a mountain near Shahr-e Kord and burst into flames, Iranian state television quoted Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman of the country's emergency management organization, as saying.

Shahr-e Kord is some 370 kilometers (230 miles) south of the capital, Tehran.

A day ago, Mina posted a picture on her Instagram account, which shows her surrounded by smiling friends in sunglasses and dressing gowns. The photograph has been hashtagged #minasbachelorette and #bettertogether.

The crashed jet - a Bombardier Challenger C600 series - belonged to Mina's father, Huseyin Basaran, of the Basaran Yatirim Holding business conglomerate in Turkey, with interests in construction, tourism, aviation, hotels, food, energy and more, the report said.