Two teenage brothers from Erbil drown at Iranian beach on the Caspian Sea

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In recent days, two teenage brothers from the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil drowned in the Caspian (Qazvin) Sea while swimming at a beach north of the city of Qazvin.

Iran's northern coast is a popular resort area for both Iranian and foreign tourists.

The two siblings, 15-year-old Ibrahim Qadir and 18-year-old Ismail Qadir, were with their family, traveling through different parts of Iran as tourists. One of them reportedly died while still in the water, while the second passed away after being transported to a healthcare facility to receive treatment.

It is unclear when exactly the incident occurred, but the victims’ bodies have already been returned to Erbil, where they were buried. 

The family is from the Darato neighborhood, located in southern Erbil.

Such tragic incidents occur on occasion in the Kurdistan Region as well, but they tend to spike around the holidays as large numbers of tourists flock to the region’s scenic resorts, some of which have large bodies of water where picnickers swim.

Related Article: 56 individuals drowned in Kurdistan Region during Summer 2019: KRG

In a report issued earlier this month, the Kurdistan Region Interior Ministry said that, between the beginning of June and the end of August, 56 people had drowned in lakes and rivers in the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

The ministry noted that a majority of the drowning incidents involved tourists from central and southern parts of Iraq who had visited the comparatively cooler climate of the Kurdistan Region during the sweltering summer months. 

Editing by John J. Catherine