Three killed in Iran helicopter crash- news agency

TEHRAN, Feb 15 (Reuters) Three people aboard a helicopter were killed when it crashed in Iran's central province of Fars today, Iran's official IRNA newsagency reported.

A provincial official said Iran's Oil Ministry owned the helicopter that crashed near the Shiraz Salt Lake, near the central city of Shiraz.

''The pilot and two technicians were killed in the crash,'' IRNA quoted local official Hamid Taghizadeh as saying.

It was unclear whether there were any survivors and what was the cause of the crash.

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

REUTERS SSC KN2054