TEHRAN, July 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,286 people have sought medical treatment in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan since Tuesday after the province was hit by sandstorms, official news agency IRNA reported Saturday.

       Most of the patients suffer from respiratory, heart or eye conditions and 75 of them have been hospitalized, the IRNA quoted Majid Mohebi, head of the province's Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization, as saying.

       More than 3,000 people in the province have sought medical treatment after it was struck by successive waves of sandstorms since July 2, and at least 295 of them have been hospitalized, according to local media reports.

       The counties of Zabol, Zehak, Hamoun, Hirmand, and Nimrouz are among the places hardest hit by sandstorms in the past 20 days, Mohebi added.

       According to Mohsen Heidari, director general of the province's meteorological organization, the highest wind speed in Zabol reached 126 km per hour on Friday morning.

       Heidari said that there could be more sandstorms as strong winds are expected to continue in the next few days.

       The province usually has strong summer winds from late May to late September.