At least two Kurdish kolbars died in an avalanche along the mountainous Iran-Turkey border on Tuesday, according to local human rights groups. A third kolbar was rescued and survived.

The victims were identified by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights as Masoum Ahmadi and his cousin Jandar Ahmadi, both from the village of Kuran in the Soma and Bradost region of Urmia. The three were caught when a sudden snowslide swept through the area.

Kolbars are individuals, primarily from Iran’s Kurdish border regions, who make a living by carrying goods—such as fuel, household appliances, and textiles—across treacherous mountain paths between Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. They face constant peril from severe weather, avalanches, rugged terrain, landmines, and security-related violence.

This incident underscores the persistent dangers of the trade, even absent direct conflict. According to data compiled by Hengaw, 2024 alone has seen at least 339 kolbars killed or injured in Iran’s border regions. Of these, 57 were killed and 282 injured.

The organization reports that more than 80% of these casualties resulted from direct gunfire by Iranian border forces. The remainder were caused by natural hazards like avalanches and frostbite, falls from cliffs, land-mine explosions, and other accidents on the remote routes.

The profession persists due to acute economic hardship and a lack of stable employment in many Kurdish border provinces. For numerous families in these marginalized areas, kolbari remains one of the few viable, though extremely hazardous, means of earning a livelihood.