Iran military helicopter crashes into market, killing 4

An Iranian military helicopter crashed into a fruit and vegetable market in Dorcheh, Isfahan province, killing at least four people, including the pilot and co-pilot. The incident highlights Iran’s aging fleet amid sanctions limiting spare parts

Tehran: An Iranian military helicopter crashed into a fruit and vegetable market in central Iran on Tuesday, reportedly killing at least four people.

The crash happened in the town of Dorcheh, some 330 kilometres (205 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran, in the country’s Isfahan province, Iranian state television reported. Isfahan is home to a major Iranian air base, as well as a nuclear site struck by the US during the Iran-Israel war in June.

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The army helicopter had been on a training flight, state TV said. The pilot and co-pilot died in the crash, it added, showing footage of debris and smoke rising from the market.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said two people on the ground at the market died in the crash.

This is the second crash in less than a week in Iran. An F-4 fighter jet crashed near Iran’s western city of Hamedan, killing one of its pilots.

Iran has a history of fatal crashes. Western sanctions have dried up the supply of parts for aircraft in Iran, which relies on a fleet of aging helicopters and airplanes for both its government and commercial airlines.