Tragedy in Iran: Bus Carrying Pakistani Pilgrims Crashes, State Media Reported
At least three people were killed and 48 others injured when a bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims collided with a truck in southern Iran on Sunday. These said pilgrims had gone to Iraq for the Arbaeen commemoration, marking the 40th day of mourning for the martyred grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam Hussain.
According to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, the crash happened late Sunday between Neyriz city in Fars province and Sirjan in Kerman province. “The collision left 48 people wounded and three dead”, though it was not disclosed how many passengers were on board the bus.
A Fars traffic police official, Colonel Abdol Hashem Dehghani, said a “technical failure” in the bus’s brakes and the driver’s “inability to control the vehicle” caused the crash. However, Iran’s Mehr News Urdu reported a slightly higher death toll with Neyriz Governor Yaqub Khosrawani saying four Pakistani pilgrims had died and 30 others were injured.
This is the second fatal road accident of Pakistani pilgrims within a week. Days earlier, another fatal accident occurred in Iran’s city of Yazd that claimed 28 lives of pilgrims who were also on their way to Iraq to observe Arbaeen. Bodies of the victims were brought back to Pakistan on Friday night.
It’s a country where roads have a dreadful safety record. In the year to March 2024, there were more than 20,000 fatalities, according to the Iranian judiciary’s Legal Medicine Organization.
The event last year attracted 22 million pilgrims; official figures showed. So far this year, as of 19 August, around 25,000 Pakistani pilgrims had already crossed into Iran en route for Karbala, where Imam Husain and his brother Abbas lie buried.
Following the fresh tragedy, Shehbaz Sharif condoled the tragic death of Pakistani pilgrims on X. He directed the Pakistani embassy in Iran to immediately provide all possible help and equal care to the bereaved families, and ensure that superior medical care is given to the injured persons.
