A screen grab from footage broadcast on Iranian state tv Irib on Dec 26, 2020 shows a rescue operation after eight climbers were found dead dead and at least seven others missing due to avalanches north of Tehran. (IRIB NEWS AGENCY / AFP)

DUBAI/TEHRAN - Heavy snowfall has killed 12 climbers in mountains north of Iran’s capital, Tehran, while rough waters capsized a ship in the Gulf, killing at least one crew member, state media reported on Sunday.

Heavy snow and high winds in several parts of Iran in the past few days have closed many roads and disrupted transport.

The body of one of seven missing crew members of a capsized Iranian transport vessel was found in the Gulf waters on Monday, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

The agency quoted a local maritime official as saying that the search was continuing for the remaining six crew members, whose vessel capsized on Friday near the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

The crew members included six Iranians and one Indian.

Meanwhile, the bodies of two climbers were found on Sunday, bringing to 12 the toll after the heavy snows, Reza Zarei, head of Iran’s mountaineering federation, was quoted as saying by state TV.

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Fatalities occurred in the districts of Kolakchal, Ahar, and Darabad on Friday when a sudden blizzard caused avalanches, prompting large-scale search and rescue missions.

After three days of search, the Red Crescent in Tehran on Sunday called it off, saying they had rescued 14 people trapped in the northern heights of the capital.