Six die in Iran helicopter crash

TEHRAN, Aug 11 (Reuters) Six people aboard a helicopter were killed when it crashed in Iran's Caspian Sea province of Mazandaran today, an official told state television.

The helicopter crashed into Damavand Mountain near the northern town of Amol at around 06.00 a.m. (0800 IST).

''Unfortunately, there were no survivors. The three flight crew, two air force personnel and a member of Iran's National Mountaineering Federation died in the crash,'' Mazandaran disaster chief Behzad Pourmohammadi said.

Preliminary investigations showed that the accident occurred due to overloading, the official said.

''The helicopter was on its way to re-supply construction materials to the third shelter of the mountain,'' Pourmohammadi said.

Iran, largely due to US sanctions, operates an ageing fleet of aircraft mostly dating from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

REUTERS DHB ND1802