TEHRAN — Two rangers got killed while chasing poachers in Geno biosphere reserve in the southern province of Hormozgan on Thursday, the Department of Environment website reported.

While patrolling the area, the two rangers, Mohammad Dehqani and Parviz Hormozi, got shot in the head and the heart and passed away, Hormozgan province department of environment director general said.

Majid Vafadar explained that the poachers ran away from the scene and the searches to find the murderers are still ongoing.

Dehqani, 35, and Hormozi, 54, each have got the experience of 12 and 23 years under their belts, Vafadar said.

As the area is almost impassable the two rangers’ bodies must have been brought back by helicopter but due to the darkness it was not possible either, Vafadar noted.

“So the rangers’ co-workers climbed up the mountain to bring back their dead bodies,” he added.

Masoumeh Ebtekar, chief of the Department of Environment, has also extended her condolences and urged the police to catch the criminals in no time.

MQ/MG