8 Killed and 28 Injured in Bus Overturning Carrying Students
The overturning of a bus carrying students from the Science and Research Unit of Islamic Azad University resulted in the death of at least 8 people and the injury of 28 others.
According to ISNA news agency, around noon on Tuesday, the 4th of Dey month, the bus carrying students overturned.
PeymanSaberian, head of Tehran Emergency Center, announced that “one emergency helicopter, 15 ambulances, two buses and two motorcycle ambulances” have been dispatched to the scene of the accident.
According to him, currently the condition of none of the injured in this accident is critical.
Hasan Abedi, deputy of Tehran Traffic Police, told FARS news agency that the bus overturned “due to collision with a concrete wall” and investigations to find the cause of the accident are ongoing.
Previously, some media outlets had reported that the cause of the accident was a heart attack of the bus driver, but the head of Tehran Emergency Center said that it is not yet possible to comment with certainty on this matter and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
ISNA, citing some students from this university unit, reported that the student transportation buses of this university “are sometimes worn out and lack proper safety measures and were not supposed to be used for a long time. Especially in winter when there is frost, this matter is more concerning.” According to these students, based on what they heard, the reason for today’s accident was that “the bus had faulty brakes.”
Another student told ISNA that the buses of this university “are all worn out and their number is insufficient, and they carry more than capacity, 60 to 70 students,” while “sometimes drivers have been seen being drowsy at the wheel or eating and drinking and lacking sufficient concentration.”
Simultaneously, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Prosecutor General of Iran, ordered the Tehran Prosecutor to investigate this matter and report the results.
According to the announcement of Islamic Azad University officials, classes at the Science and Research Unit are currently suspended to conduct investigations regarding the cause of the accident.
Iran is among the countries with a high death rate due to traffic accidents. Based on statistics announced for the year 2017, 16,201 people in Iran lost their lives due to traffic incidents.
Source: Voice of America
