Iran bus crash kills at least 19 on mountain road

This handout picture provided by the Iranian Mizan News Agency on January 9, 2020 shows Iranian Red Crescent paramedics recovering bodies at the scene of a bus accident that plunged off a mountain road into a ravine in Mazandaran province, 150 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of Tehran. (AFP)

This handout picture provided by the Iranian Mizan News Agency on January 9, 2020 shows rescue workers inspecting the scene of a bus accident that plunged off a mountain road into a ravine in Mazandaran province, 150 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of Tehran. (AFP)

• Brake failure was believed to have caused the accident in Mazandaran province
• The bus plunged off a mountain road into a ravine before dawn

TEHRAN: At least 19 people were killed and 24 injured in northern Iran when a bus plunged off a mountain road into a ravine before dawn Thursday, local news agencies reported.
Brake failure was believed to have caused the accident in Mazandaran province, 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Tehran, official news agency IRNA said.
The bus was traveling between the capital and Gonbad-e-Kavous, a historic town near Turkmenistan renowned for its 11th-century brick tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.