Tehran: More than 10 climbers have died and several more are missing in mountains north of Iran’s capital Tehran after a heavy snowfall, state media reported on Saturday, and seven crew members of a ship were also missing after storms in the Gulf.

Heavy snow and winds in several parts of Iran in the past few days have closed many roads and disrupted transport.

Several climbers remain unaccounted for since Friday when two deaths were reported and the number reported as missing has increased as concerned families contact the authorities, state television said.

Nine people had been killed on the mountain and one died in hospital after being rescued, Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at Iran’s Red Crescent, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.

At least seven climbers were still unaccounted for on three popular trails, Valipour said earlier.

Tehran lies at the foot of the Alborz mountain range which has several ski resorts is reported in Aljazeera 

State TV broadcast footage of a helicopter rescue operation on the Tochal and Kolakchal peaks of the Alborz mountain range, showing Red Crescent personnel carrying a body on a stretcher along a snowy mountainside.
A member of the Red Crescent team said the rescue mission was complicated by “bad weather and snow”.

State various bodies are engaged in the rescue mission and more stories to come up said the state media.