Three days of public mourning in Kurdistan to honor victims of oil tanker accident
The Kurdistan Regional Government has declared three days of national mourning following a fatal collision between an oil tanker and a passenger bus in the city of Sanandaj. So far, 18 people have been confirmed dead.
A number of people were killed and injured when an oil tanker and a passenger bus collided on Dr. Hosseini Boulevard in Sanandaj in the early hours of Wednesday morning, July 11. The Kurdistan Governorate Information Center has declared three days of public mourning in honor of the victims of the accident.
According to a report by Mehr News Agency, Hooman Ghasri, one of the two bus drivers involved in the accident who survived, said that the tanker collided with a pickup truck while the bus was stopping to pick up passengers, causing the tanker and the bus to catch fire simultaneously.
At least 13 people killed
Saleh Zandi, deputy director of operations for the Sanandaj Fire Department, told Mehr News Agency that 13 bodies were handed over to the emergency department, 12 of which were from the bus and one from the oil tanker.
According to him, two Paykan pickup trucks and an unidentified vehicle were also involved in the accident. He said the tanker was carrying 18,000 liters of fuel and the driver and the bus driver's passenger survived the accident.
“Conflict with officers”
Unconfirmed reports on social media claimed that the tanker belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and was fueled by “smuggled oil from Kirkuk, Iraq.” Videos of two vehicles allegedly belonging to security forces being overturned were also posted on these networks. Apparently, people got into a fight when they saw officers “being rude instead of helping.”
Akbar Johari, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of the Kurdistan Provincial Center, denied the news that the tanker and its driver were from Iraq in an interview with Mizan News Agency. He said that the cause of the accident, based on initial reports, was a ruptured brake lining of the fuel tanker, and at the same time, he said that the final report from the competent authorities should have been awaited. He also announced that a legal case has been filed in this regard, adding that the tanker driver and many bus passengers lost their lives.
“Multiple rioters abuse”
Meanwhile, the Telegram channel of the Jamaran news site reported "the abuse of a few rioters by the ashes of their compatriots."
The site states that during the incident, “provoked by fake news, a number of rioters attacked rescue and law enforcement forces and prevented them from providing aid.” The site also states: “A small number of rioters seriously damaged a number of government vehicles and targeted rescue and law enforcement forces with stones and sticks.”
Source: DW
