Deadly avalanche hits Iran’s Kurdistan province

People looking for victims following a deadly avalanche incident in Kurdistan province, Iran on February 28, 2025. Photo: screengrab/submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A deadly avalanche hit Iran’s western Kurdistan province on Friday. At least two people are confirmed dead and several others are missing.

Iranian state media reported that two people have died.

“The corpses found belong to a woman and a man who were taken to Salahaddin Ayoubi Baneh Hospital,” Deputy Kurdistan Governor Kiumars Habibi told IRNA state news agency.

“The missing mountaineers, estimated to be between six and seven individuals, had traveled to these heights in a minibus for recreational purposes. While sledding in one of the region’s valleys, they were caught in an avalanche at three different points,” he added. 

Local sources told Rudaw that four bodies have been recovered.

The incident was reported Friday evening and occurred in the mountains about 33 kilometers from Baneh.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, in a phone call to Kurdistan governor and the head of the Red Crescent Society, called for immediate action to rescue the missing people, IRNA reported. 

The CEO of the Kurdistan Red Crescent Society, Payam Jalalzadeh, said that six rescue teams have been sent to the location, according to IRNA.