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Heavy snowfall, avalanches kill many climbers in Iran

December 27, 2020

At least 10 climbers have died, while several are missing, after heavy snowfall and avalanches hit the Alborz mountain chain in northern Tehran, according to state media reports.

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The Alborz mountain range has several ski resorts, which attract skiers every year
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP

Nine people died on the Alborz mountain and one died in hospital, Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at Iranian Red Crescent, an NGO, told state media on Saturday. The mountaineers had gone missing on Friday. A helicopter rescue operation was undertaken to recover the bodies.

A Red Crescent team member said that the rescue mission, which had 20 search teams, faced difficulty in searching for the missing people owing to "bad weather and snow."

Iran has been hit by heavy snow over the past few days, which has led to road closures. The Alborz mountain range has several ski resorts, which attract a large number of skiers every year.

Separately, seven crew members of an Iranian transport vessel were reported missing after storms in the Gulf.

"We are trying to find the missing people by mobilizing all our facilities and forces, and informing passing vessels and the naval search and rescue centers of Oman, the UAE and Pakistan," Esmail Makkizadeh, the deputy head of Iran Ports and Maritime Organization, told a state news agency.

am/shs (AFP, Reuters)