A bus transporting Pakistani pilgrims toppled in Iran, killing at least 28 people, according to Iranian official television.
According to Reuters, the collision occurred on Tuesday night in Yazd, central Iran, and was caused by a malfunctioning braking system.
The province’s crisis management director informed state television that another 23 people were hurt; seven of them were critically injured.
The pilgrims were travelling from the Sindh region in Pakistan to Iraq’s holy city of Karbala to commemorate one of the most important days in the Shia calendar.
According to Pakistan’s Dawn News, 53 people were on the bus when it crashed, including pilgrims from Larkana, Ghotki, and other Sindh areas.
The crisis management director, Ali Malekzadeh, and eleven ladies and seventeen men were killed in the crash.
Local media sources said the bus caught fire in front of Iran’s Dehshir-Taft checkpoint, which is around 681 kilometres (423 miles) south of Tehran.
Mr. Malekzadeh stated that the bus swerved off the road “due to lack of control by the driver of the vehicle, unfamiliarity with the road, high speed, and technical problems.”.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said he was directing the foreign ministry to repatriate the corpses of those killed in the incident and assist the injured.
Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi, in the in the meantime, stated, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives in the bus accident in Iran.”
Pakistan’s consulate in Iran has been asked to help with recovery efforts, and the country’s ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said he was in contact with the Iranian government and local officials in Yazd.
The Arbaeen pilgrimage concludes a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson. Approximately two million Shia Muslim pilgrims are now taking part.
