March 17, 2023
Two government officials were killed and the sports minister seriously injured when the helicopter in which they were flying crash landed as it was trying to put down on a soccer field in Baft, Kerman province, February 23. Fifteen others were injured as well. It was not immediately known why the chopper crashed as it was maneuvering to land.
News reports said Sports Minister Hamid Sajadi was injured in the head and hand, broke one of his neck vertebrae and also suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, an emergency condition in which a ruptured blood vessel causes bleeding inside the brain. In January, the EU imposed sanctions on Sajadi for his efforts to crack down on athletes and stop them from endorsing the ongoing protests. Sajadi is now out of the hospital.
