A BUS has swerved off the road and burst into flames in Iran, killing 28 passengers in a horror smash after a suspected brake failure.
The tragic crash took place in the Iranian province of Yazd, with a further 23 passengers injured – several of them critically.
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A group of Pakistani pilgrims were aboard the bus, travelling to the Iraq holy city of Karbala for religious celebrations.
A defective brake system has been blamed for the crash as cops probe the circumstances, Reuters reported.
Yazd province crisis management director Ali Malekzadeh said the bus came tumbling off the road “due to lack of control by the driver of the vehicle, unfamiliarity with the road, high speed and technical problems”.
The vehicle erupted into flames outside Taft, about 310 miles southeast of capital city Tehran.
Horror pictures showed the bus flipped with its roof smashed and doors flung open.
Video posted to social media showed a huge group of onlookers surveying the crash site.
Rescue teams step over broken glass and debris strewn across the road while others watch on in shock from afar.
Some shine torches into the wreck in case any passengers remain trapped in.
The death toll is made up of 17 men and 11 women, with Pakistani authorities now on a mission to bring home the bodies.
Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives in the bus accident in Iran.”
Malekzadeh added: “Unfortunately, 11 women and 17 men lost their lives in this accident.
“Seven of the injured people are in critical condition and six injured people have now left the hospital.”
Iran has a shocking road safety record, with nearly 20,000 deaths recorded every year.
Lawless driving, unsafe vehicles and a lack of emergency services throughout rural areas are blamed for the country’s deadly history.
The pilgrimage to Karbala commemorates a huge event in the Shia calendar – Arbaeen – with an estimated 2million Shia Muslims taking part.
Arbaeen is regarded as the world’s biggest public gathering.
It marks the death of Prophet Muhammads grandson Hussein during the Battle of Karbala.
According to Pakistani media, local religious leader Qamar Abbas feared as many as 35 people perished in the crash.
He said the pilgrims came from the city of Larkana in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
The pilgrimage has been marred by horror previously, too, with a stampede in 2019 killing 31.
It wasn’t the only fatal bus smash in the Middle Eastern country on Wednesday.
Another crash in Iran’s southeast killed six people with 18 more injured, according to local authorities.
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