Tehran, Jul 7 (IANS): A total of 833 people have been referred to hospitals and medical centres in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan over the past five days due to health problems caused by sandstorms, state media reported.

Majid Mohebi, head of the province's Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization, told the state media that 128 of those people had been hospitalised mostly for breathing problems, heart or eye conditions as a result of the sandstorms, reports Xinhua news agency.

Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Sajjadi, the head of the Sistan and Baluchestan Red Crescent Society, said that more than 6,000 face masks were provided to local residents in the storm-affected areas of the province.

Strong winds are expected to continue in the coming days, which may cause more sand storms, Mohsen Heidari, director general of the province's meteorological organization, was quoted as saying.

The province typically experiences strong summer winds from May to late September every year.