Bus accident with Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq in Iran: At least 28 people die

TEHRAN – A bus carrying Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq crashed in central Iran. At least 28 people were killed, an official said on Wednesday.

The crash occurred on Tuesday evening in the central Iranian province of Yazd, said Mohammad Ali Malekzadeh, a local emergency official, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Another 23 people were injured in the accident, 14 of them seriously, he added.

At the time of the crash there were 51 people on board.

The pilgrims were on their way to Iraq to observe Arbaeen, which marks the 40th day after the death of a 7th-century Shiite saint. The pilgrims are gathering in Karbala, Iraq, for the largest annual public gathering in the world.

Authorities did not give an immediate cause for the accident. However, Iran has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with around 17,000 deaths each year. The high number of road deaths is attributed to widespread disregard for traffic rules, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services in the vast rural areas.

Another bus crash early Wednesday in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan left six people dead and 18 injured, authorities said.