At least four mountain climbers have died in Iran and four others are missing after heavy snowfall, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday.
An avalanche had trapped five climbers Friday on Randola mountain near the northwestern city of Oshnavieh city, West Azerbaijan province, with the Red Crescent saying its teams later rescued two of them.
The bodies of the three missing climbers were found after six days of efforts to locate them, said Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent's rescue operations.
Rescuers were also searching for three mountain climbers in the northwestern province of Ardabil and another in the north-central province of Tehran, he said, cited by the organisation's website.
The Iran Meteorological Organization had issued a warning on Saturday of the risk of avalanches due to heavy snowfall, particularly in the country's mountainous northwest.
On the same day, the official news agency IRNA said a 70-year-old climber had died in mountains north of the capital Tehran.
In December 2020, at least eight climbers died after a blizzard and avalanches hit north of Tehran, which sits on the foothills of the Alborz mountain range.