8 killed, 28 injured in student bus overturn

A bus carrying students from the Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University overturned, killing at least 8 people and injuring 28 others.

According to ISNA news agency, around 12:00 noon on Tuesday, January 24, a bus carrying students overturned.

Peyman Sabrian, head of Tehran's emergency center, announced that "an emergency helicopter, 15 ambulances, two buses, and two motor lances" have been dispatched to the scene of the incident.

According to him, none of the injured in the incident are currently in critical condition.

Hassan Abedi, deputy head of Tehran's traffic police, told Fars News Agency that the bus overturned "due to hitting a concrete wall" and that investigations are currently ongoing to determine the cause of the accident.

Previously, some media outlets had announced that the cause of the accident was a stroke in the bus driver, but the head of Tehran's emergency center said that it was not yet possible to comment on this with certainty and that the cause of the accident was under investigation.

ISNA quoted some students from this university unit as saying that the university's student transportation buses "are sometimes worn out and do not have proper safety features, and were not intended to be used for a long time. This is especially worrisome in the winter when it freezes." According to these students, based on what they heard, the reason for today's accident was that "the bus had cut off the brakes."

Another student told ISNA that the university's buses "are all worn out and there are not enough of them, and they carry more than their capacity, about 60 to 70 students," adding that "sometimes drivers are seen sleeping behind the wheel or eating and drinking and not concentrating enough."

At the same time, Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri has ordered the Tehran Prosecutor's Office to investigate the issue and report its results.

According to Azad University officials, classes in the Science and Research Department have been closed until an investigation into the cause of the incident can be conducted.

Iran is one of the countries with the highest death rate due to traffic accidents. According to statistics announced in 2017, 16,201 people lost their lives in Iran due to traffic accidents.

Source: Voice of America