Media: Bus accident involving Pakistani pilgrim in Iran: Three dead

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At least three people were killed and 48 others injured when a bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims collided with a truck in southern Iran, state media reported on Monday.

In recent days, Shiite Muslims have traveled to Iraq for an important ritual, and Pakistanis have often traveled through Iran to attend the Arba'een commemoration.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said a bus collided with a truck on the main road between the town of Neyriz in Fars province and Sirjan in Kerman province late Sunday, “injuring 48 people and killing three.”

It was not stated how many people were on the bus.

IRNA quoted Colonel Abdol Hashem Dehghani, an officer in Fars traffic police, as saying the accident was caused by a “technical defect” in the brakes and the “driver's inability to control the vehicle”.

This was the second road accident involving Pakistani pilgrims in less than a week. Previously, a road accident in central Iran killed 28 people who were on their way to Iraq for the Arba'een festival, one of the biggest festivals in the Shiite calendar.

Iran has a poor road safety record: by March 2024, there had been over 20,000 road deaths, according to figures from the Iranian Judiciary's Legal Medicine Organization cited by local media.

Arba'in, the 40th anniversary of mourning for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, attracted a total of 22 million pilgrims last year, according to official figures.

According to IRNA, by August 19 this year, about 25,000 Pakistani pilgrims had entered Iran to reach the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, where Hussein and his brother Abbas are buried.

rkh-mz/ami