ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Six members of an environmental group were injured in a car accident while en route to extinguishing a forest fire near the Kurdish city of Mariwan, the organization said on Tuesday.
The Green Mountain Committee (Chya Sabz) said two of their teams had reached a forest on Monday between Hana Sheikhan and Hanjiran in Kurdistan province's Mariwan, bordering the Kurdistan Region, to contain a fire.
"Due to the large size of the fire and the impassability of the area, the members asked for help after several hours of hard work," the organization said in a statement on their Telegram channel.
"Members of the third team immediately left for the area," added the organization, "but due to the impassability of the forest fire, unfortunately, the third team had an accident and six members of the association were injured."
Iraj Qaderi, a member of the organization explained to Rudaw English that their car had crashed but they were rescued by the Red Crescent.
Chya Sabz is a major non-governmental organization established 22 years ago in Mariwan, Kurdistan Province. To this day, it is the most active environmental group in Iran's Kurdish areas and has played a critical role across the region by raising awareness of illegal logging, wildfires, and threats to the famous oak tree forests.
Three with light injuries remained in the area and continued work to prevent the fire from spreading, two were released from hospital hours later and another was sent to Sanandaj for treatment, according to the group.
The organization's work has come with occasional sacrifices. Three members lost their lives last year battling blazes in the province of Kermanshah. Environmental activists gathered last month, on the first anniversary of their deaths, in the cemetery where they were laid to rest.
They had been battling wildfires in Mariwan periodically since the beginning of July.
In a tweet on July 3, the group said it has controlled more than 120 fires in Mariwan since March 21, the beginning of the Iranian New Year.
Another four died and 11 were wounded in the wreck of a minibus in June near the city of Saqqez in Iran's Kurdistan province on their way to Baneh to hold a protest on a mountain peak to highlight the devastating impact of fires that had ravaged the Zagros mountain range.
