Bodies of 28 Pakistanis killed in bus crash in Iran to be repatriated today

An image grab from footage obtained from Iranian State TV IRIB on August 21, 2024, shows Iranian first responders at the site of a bus crash in Iran's central Yazd province. (AFP/HO/IRIB NEWS)

• The bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims overturned in Iran’s Yazd on Tuesday, following a technical defect in its braking system
• The pilgrims were on their way to Iraq to commemorate Arbaeen, which marks 40th day following the death of Imam Hussain (RA)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent a C-130 aircraft to bring back bodies of 28 pilgrims who were killed in a bus crash in Iran this week, the Pakistani information ministry said on Friday.
The bus carrying Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq crashed on Tuesday night in the central Iranian province of Yazd, according to Pakistani and Iranian authorities.
Another 23 people suffered injuries in the crash that happened on their way to Iraq, with more than a dozen of the injured pilgrims in serious condition.
“A special C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force has been sent to Iran to bring back dead bodies of Pakistani pilgrims,” the information ministry said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“The dead bodies of Pakistani pilgrims will be brought back from Iran today (Friday).”
A majority of the deceased Pakistani pilgrims belonged to the Larkana district in Pakistan’s Sindh province, according to the statement. Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran had recommended sending bodies of Pakistani pilgrims by air due to the long distance between Yazd and Larkana, in view of hot weather.
Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Mudassir Tipu, said they had completed arrangements for the repatriation of bodies and some of the injured persons.
“Mission is most grateful to Pakistan and Iran for utmost cooperation dealing with tragic situation,” he said on X.
There were 51 people on board at the time of the crash outside of the city of Taft, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran. The pilgrims had been on their way to Iraq to commemorate Arbaeen.
Millions of Shiite Muslims are currently partaking in the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq’s Karbala Governorate, which marks the 40th mourning day following the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (RA), a central figure in Shiite Islam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Iran has one of the world’s worst traffic safety records with some 17,000 deaths annually. The grave toll is blamed on wide disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services in its vast rural areas.
Iranian state television has blamed Tuesday’s crash on the bus brakes failing and a lack of attention by its driver.