Iran's sports minister injured in helicopter crash, aide killed

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – A helicopter carrying Iran's sports minister and other senior officials crashed in the southeastern Kerman province on Thursday, killing one and injuring more than a dozen.

The helicopter crashed as it was about to land at a sports complex in the city of Baft, 155 kilometers (34 miles) southwest of the provincial capital, officials said.

Esmail Ahmadi, a senior adviser to the sports minister and a ministry director general, was killed in the incident, the head of emergency services in Kerman confirmed.

Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi suffered a brain hemorrhage and was shifted to a local hospital, provincial officials said.

His condition is believed to be "unstable," according to local officials and sources.

The Red Crescent Society in Kerman said at least 16 people were on board the helicopter when it crashed from a height of around 10 to 15 meters.

All 12 passengers and four crew members sustained injuries. The condition of at least two of them is said to be critical.

The cause of the crash is being investigated, state media cited the provincial governor, Mohammad-Mehdi Fadakar, as saying.

Sajjadi, a former long-distance runner who represented Iran in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, was in January sanctioned by the European Union in connection with the months-long protests in the country triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody.