TEHRAN: At least 35 people have been killed and 15 others seriously injured after a bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims met with an accident in Yazd, Iran.
According to Maulana Qamar Abbas Naqvi, a member of a Larkana-based peace committee, at least 30 people were killed on the spot, while five succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Iran's Mehr News Agency said the death toll in the crash was 28 and that an emergency had been imposed at hospitals across the city to treat the injured.
The bus crashed, according to Iranian media, overturned and caught fire near the Taftan-Dehshir checkpoint.
The bus, which was carrying 53 passengers, was involved in an accident last night. Police and rescue services attended the scene and took the bodies and the injured to hospital.
Talking with Geo.tv Maulana Shah Murad Sharifi, a Qom seminary student originally from Larkana, said the pilgrim convoy consisted of two buses carrying around 52 passengers each.
Explaining the current situation, he said apart from five or six people who suffered minor injuries, most of the passengers of the stricken bus were in critical condition and were being treated at a local government hospital.
Asked about the cause of the fatal accident, Sharifi said he had heard people say the vehicle's brakes had failed before the crash.
More news to come later…
