Uncertain Fate of Flood Missing Persons: Seven in Tehran, Two in Alborz

According to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Organization, after the flood that occurred last Sunday, the fate of seven missing persons in Tehran and two missing in Alborz is still unknown. Nasser Charkhsaz, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent's rescue and relief organization, stated on Friday, August 1, in an interview with the state news agency IRNA, that rescue operations are still ongoing. He said, 'Eight bodies have been found in Tehran and seven bodies in Alborz, but some have reported that seven of their relatives are missing in Tehran and two in Alborz, and these individuals have not yet been found.' According to Mr. Charkhsaz, the intensity of the water flow has carried the missing persons over very long distances, so that several missing persons from the flood have been found in the Javanmardan Park. Previously, the Iranian forensic organization had reported that the number of victims of this incident in Tehran and Alborz has reached 16. Meanwhile, the head of the rescue and relief organization responded to the question of whether finding these individuals is possible, stating, 'As time passes, it becomes harder to find the missing persons, with some individuals buried under more than two meters of mud and others found 25 to 26 kilometers away in Tehran.' Mr. Charkhsaz mentioned that his colleagues in the rescue and relief sector have searched very long routes, indicating that 'there are also difficult-to-access areas that colleagues are trying to reach to possibly find the missing persons.' This Red Crescent official further noted that 'we can prevent such incidents in many cases,' stating, 'We need to be more careful in construction and not build in the paths of rivers.' According to Mr. Charkhsaz, there are many buildings and restaurants around the Kahn and Chalus rivers that, despite having construction permits, are illegal; 'because the law is the law of nature, and water will take its path, carrying away anything in its way.' In this context, a few days ago, Mohammad Haqani, a member of the Tehran City Council, identified construction in the vicinity of streams and rivers, the destruction of qanats and springs, and the narrowing of river paths as some of the reasons for the extensive damage caused by the flood. Reports indicate that the flood that occurred on the evening of Sunday, July 28, caused damage in the provinces of Kurdistan, North Khorasan, Semnan, and Mazandaran, but no reports of casualties have yet been published from these provinces. Following the flood incident, several officials, including Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesperson for Iran's emergency services, and Jalal Maleki, the spokesperson for Tehran's fire department, criticized the 'inaccurate' forecasts of the meteorological organization. In this context, 'concealment in announcing the death toll' from the flood on Sunday has led to the number of victims in Tehran and Alborz reaching 16. Following the deadly flood, there were protests against the meteorological organization in the Tehran City Council.