Forty homeless die as freezing weather hits Tehran

[senorpepr]

...This kinda hits close to where some of our troops are at -- same system...

TEHRAN (AFP) - Forty homeless people froze to death in a single night in the Iranian capital Tehran, a report said, adding that officials also blamed drugs for some of the deaths.

The Shargh newspaper quoted local magistrate Behrouz Honarmand Wednesday as saying the 40, all male and aged between 13 and 50 years old, died Monday night as freezing weather hit the city.

The paper said most of the victims were drug addicts living in cardboard boxes.

For the past week, winter weather has arrived in Tehran, a city set at an altitude of between 1,300 and 1,800 metres (4,265 and 5,900 feet) at the foot of the Alborz mountains, now covered in snow. Tehran has also been drenched by heavy rain.

Iran is home to some 2.5 million drug addicts, of which at least 200,000 inject.