Bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims overturns in Iran, killing 28 people

TEHRAN, Iran — At least 28 Pakistani pilgrims died when the bus they were travelling in overturned in central Iran, state media reported on Wednesday.

The pilgrims were on their way to Iraq to mark Arbaeen, an important festival of remembrance for Shiites, when the crash occurred on Tuesday night, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

Another 23 people were injured in the accident that took place in Yazd province, with 14 of them in critical condition. The dead and injured are to be flown home to Pakistan.

A photo published by IRNA showed the badly damaged bus lying on its roof.

Initial findings suggest the cause of the accident was a brake failure on a steep section of road, IRNA reported, citing the head of the local traffic police.

“My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X.

Arbaeen, also written Arba’in, meaning 40th in Arabic, is a Shia Islam commemoration that takes place 40 days after the festival of Ashura and mourns the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in the Battle of Karbala in 680.

Millions of Shiites from all over the world flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala every year for the event.

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