With nearly 17,000 casualties annually, Iran is among the top countries for road and street accidents [GETTY]
At least 21 people were killed after a bus overturned in the south of Iran, state media reported Saturday.
Masoud Abed, the head of Fars province’s emergency organisation, said that 34 other people were injured in the accident to the south of Shiraz, the province’s capital.
“Unfortunately, 21 deaths have been recorded,” Kavar Hospital director Mohsen Afrasiabi told state television.
Abed stated that rescue operations are ongoing and that additional information and final figures will be announced once the operation is complete and detailed investigations have been conducted.
He added that the incident occurred at 11:05 am, and rescue forces were immediately present at the scene.
The accident, the cause of which remains unclear, occurred near Kavar, a town about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the capital, Tehran.
With nearly 17,000 casualties annually, Iran is among the top countries for road and street accidents. The toll is attributed to the disregard of safety measures, the use of old vehicles and inadequate emergency services.
