TEHRAN, March 29 (Reuters)- Five Iranian police officers were killed on Friday in a helicopter crash while monitoring holiday traffic flows in northwest Iran, Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.

The aircraft was checking traffic during peak travel over a holiday season for the Iranian New Year, which began on March 20. The holiday season lasts about two weeks.

The helicopter crashed in the vicinity of the city of Varzaqan, in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, the report said, quoting police commander Mohammad Ali Nosrati as saying the cause of the accident was under investigation.

Iran operates an ageing fleet of aircraft, many of them dating from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Reporting by Hashem Kalantari)

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