Two buses packed with 14 Iranians plunged into a ravine while on their way to the city of Mashhad, killing
11 people and seriously injuring three others, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, citing a local press report on Tuesday.
The daily Hamshahri said that two buses were on their way to Mashhad from the western city of Kermanshah when they were forced down the Assad-Abad ravine by a passing tractor-trailer undergoing repairs at the side of the road.
The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, Hamshahri said.
Iran has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world, with an average of 200,000 reported annually.
On average, over 15,000 people are killed and 87,000 injured in traffic-related accidents in Iran annually.
One person, on average, is killed every 40 minutes and one injured every seven minutes.
Dilapidated vehicles, insufficient emergency road assistance, lack of communication facilities to swiftly relay information on traffic-related accidents and inadequate emergency centers on roads are the main causes of the high death toll, according to traffic experts – Albawaba.com
