2 killed as helicopter crashes into Iran lake

Tehran, Feb 17: Two people were killed today when their helicopter crashed into a lake in southern Iran while they were trying to recover the wreckage of another helicopter that crashed there two days before.

Both aircraft crashed into Maharlou Lake, south of Shiraz, with today's crash happening minutes after take-off, state news agencies said.

''This helicopter had two people on board. Both have been killed,'' Hamid Taghizadeh, a spokesman for emergency services in Fars province, told IRNA.

''It crashed while trying to pull out the wreckage of the first crashed helicopter in the lake,'' Taghizadeh said.

Iran's Oil Ministry owned both helicopters, IRNA said.

Three people were killed in Thursday's crash.

Iran operates an ageing fleet of aircraft mostly dating from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

REUTERS