Massoud Emami, governor of Iran's northwestern province of Qazvin, and at least 9 others on abroad a helicopter were killed in a crash Saturday afternoon, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The helicopter came down near Mollem-Kalaye north of Qazvin at 15:00 (1030 GMT), killing Emami and one of his deputy as well as several others while returning home after inspecting the mountainous district of Roudbar Alamout, where was the worst hit in the Friday earthquake.

Among the dead were also Qazvin provincial police chief, an armoured division chief of the province, a state television reporter as well as two staffers at the Qazvin Governor's Office and three crew members.

According to sources at the governor's office, four bodies have been identified and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

A strong earthquake measuring 5.5 degrees on the Richter scale hit northern Iran Friday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead,including three in Qazvin.

Source: Xinhua