ISTANBUL

At least 17 people have been killed -- and scores more injured -- by torrential flooding in Iran's south-central city of Shiraz, local officials said Monday.

“The floods swept away vehicles, causing a number of casualties,” Hossein Koolivand, head of Iran's Emergency Directorate, told state television, adding that at least three children were among the dead. 

According to Koolivand, efforts still remain underway to find and rescue survivors. 

The Iranian Students News Agency quoted one security official as saying that more than 200 cars in Shiraz had been submerged by the flooding.

Writing by Mahmoud Barakat