A referee and a student are among hundreds of people reportedly killed during massive anti-government protests in Iran.

Coach Amir Mohammad Koohkan, 26, was hit by live ammunition on 3 January during protests in the town of Neyriz, his friend told BBC Persian.

Everyone knew him for his kindness, they said, adding his family is grieving and angry because he was killed by the regime.

Five days later, student Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot from behind during a protest in Tehran, according to human rights groups. She fought for things she knew were right, her uncle told CNN.

Nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel have been killed in two weeks of protests, a US-based rights group says.

Sources in Iran have told the BBC the death toll is likely higher than reported.

Demonstrations began on 28 December over the economy in the capital Tehran and have spread to 186 cities and all 31 provinces, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).

The protests have grown into the largest in years, with calls for an end to the Islamic Republic and rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The protests led to a government crackdown, with at least 10,600 people reportedly arrested and 496 protesters killed, according to HRANA.

Medical staff in Iran have described hospitals overwhelmed with dead and injured patients. BBC Persian verified that 70 bodies were brought to Poursina Hospital in Rasht city on 9 January, and the BBC counted 180 body bags in footage from one morgue near Tehran thought to have been filmed on the same night.

Among the protest victims was Koohkan, who was killed in Neyriz in south-west Fars Province, his friend told BBC Persian. The friend did not witness the incident firsthand, but heard from eyewitnesses at the scene.

It was far too soon for him, really far too soon. He was so young, the friend said.

They described Koohkan, who had one brother, as someone who didn't like to see people in this state... in this misery.

Also killed was Aminian, a Kurdish student who was shot from behind while taking part in a protest on Thursday, according to three rights groups.

Her family faced considerable challenges when searching for her body amidst a multitude of other victims from the protests. The Iranian government has been accused of stifling information and limiting access to those affected.