At least 28 people have been killed in Iran after a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq crashed in central Iran, an official said on Wednesday. The crash occurred on Tuesday night in the central Iranian province of Yazd, a local emergency official revealed, as per the state-run IRNA news agency.
Another 23 people were injured in the crash, with 14 of them sustaining serious injuries, he added. He also mentioned that all the bus passengers were from Pakistan. There were 51 people on board when the crash occurred just outside the city of Taft.
At the time of the crash, which occurred outside the city of Taft there were 51 people on board.
As per the Iranian state television, the bus brakes failed and also put the blame of the crash on the lack of attention by the driver.
Pakistan’s locall media reported that Shiite leader Qamar Abbas stated up to 35 people had died in the crash. He mentioned that the victims were traveling from Larkana in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province. The Pakistani government has not yet issued a comment on the incident.
The victims were pilgrims en route to Iraq to observe Arbaeen, a significant event marking the 40th day after the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, during the Battle of Karbala. Arbaeen draws tens of millions of people to Karbala, Iraq, making it one of the world’s largest annual public gatherings.
Additionally, a separate bus crash early Wednesday in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province resulted in six deaths and 18 injuries, according to authorities.
(With AP inputs)