Two German Tourists Killed in Minibus Rollover Accident in Fars Province
Reports from Iran indicate that during the rollover of a minibus carrying German tourists in Fars Province, two tourists were killed and 18 others were injured.
Ahmad Ahmadi, the chief of police in Fars Province, told IRIB news agency that the cause of the minibus rollover was “exceeding safe speed on the slippery road along the Sadeghabad to Shiraz route.”
He added that two German tourists died at the scene and 18 people were injured and transported to hospitals.
Mohammad Reza Alimanesh, head of the Accident Management and Medical Emergency Center in Fars Province, also told IRNA news agency that “this accident occurred at 17:27 at kilometer 25 of the Sadeghabad-Shiraz road.”
He added that one of the foreign tourists injured in this accident was transferred by emergency helicopter to Shahid Rajaee Hospital in Shiraz due to the severity of injuries.
Sadeghabad, which is the center of Pasargad city, is located 20 kilometers from Persepolis, which is one of the important tourist sites in Fars Province.
In this regard, Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed condolences to the families of the two German tourists and added: “Following the traffic accident that occurred due to slippery road conditions, necessary and urgent measures were taken to transfer the injured to hospitals in Shiraz and Marvdasht, and other medical and welfare services are being provided to the injured by the relevant centers in the province.”
Iran is one of the accident-prone countries in the world in terms of traffic. According to a report published by Iran’s Central Insurance Research Institute, among 190 countries in the world, Iran has the second-highest death rate on roads after the African country of Sierra Leone.
As Iran’s police officials have announced, the death rate on Iran’s roads was also high during this year’s Nowruz, with one person dying every 71 minutes.
Hassan Ghazikhani Hashemi, Iran’s Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, announced in Esfand of 1394 (March 2016) that 17,000 Iranians are killed annually in traffic accidents, which he said is a “national catastrophe” and embarrassing in “international circles.”
Source: Radio Farda
