10 climbers dead, 2 missing in avalanches in Tehran mountains

At least 10 Iranian mountain climbers have lost their lives in the Alborz mountains north of Iran’s capital Tehran following heavy snowfall and a blizzard, authorities said.

Reza Zarei, the head of Iran’s Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation, said on Sunday that two climbers were still unaccounted for, adding that the rescue mission was being complicated by heavy snowfall and bad weather conditions.

“There has been a huge amount of snowfall after the avalanches -- about 15 meters. The sun could trigger another avalanche and, under such circumstances, protecting the lives of rescue workers is what matters,” he told the Fars News Agency.

The Red Crescent Society confirmed the casualty count on Sunday.

Tens of climbers had been trapped in the mountains since Friday, after days of heavy snow triggered avalanches in popular hiking trails north of Tehran. Two deaths were reported on Friday.

Two 16-member fully-equipped teams from Tehran Fire Department and Red Crescent Society were dispatched to the heights where the climbers are presumed to have gone missing.

Search and rescue operations, which had temporarily stopped due to bad weather and snow on Saturday night, were resumed from the early hours of Sunday.

An unspecified number of people sustained injuries but were rescued in time by relief workers.

Head of Tehran Red Crescent, Shahin Fat-hi, said all professional and amateur mountaineering teams had been advised against climbing due to dangerous weather conditions over the weekend, but unfortunately some disregarded the warnings and headed to the mountains.

Tochal, Kolakchal and Darabad mountain trails were where the deadly incidents took place.

The Alborz mountain range with its abundant winter snowfall hosts the best ski resorts in the Middle East.

Tochal International Ski Resort is the closest one to Tehran. It is open for about 8 months of the year.

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