An Iranian warplane crashed in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Monday, killing three people, including its two pilots, state television reported.

The country's state-run news agency IRNA said the F-5 fighter hit the ground near a school, which was closed at the time, and a sports hall, it said.

The third person killed was a pedestrian, it added. An investigation is underway, the state broadcaster said.

According to the Tasnim News Agency, the jet crashed into Shahid Alipour Sports Hall on Monjem Boulevard in Tabriz. The accident was followed by a huge fire in the center, which required the intervention of the fire brigade on the spot.

Gen. Reza Yousefi, commander of the air base in Tabriz, said the crashed jet had been used for training and suffered a technical problem on its final flight.

"Pilots could not reach the runway," he said, according to the report.

In an effort to avoid crashing into the residential area, the pilots guided the jet to the stadium, he said. The report quoted Yousefi as saying, "Pilots sacrificed themselves, they could (have) used the ejection system, but they refused to do it."

Instead, they headed for the stadium "to keep people safe," Yousefi said in the report.

Iran's air force has an assortment of United States-made military aircraft purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It also has Russian-made MiG and Sukhoi warplanes. Decades of Western sanctions have made it hard to maintain its aging fleet.