ALBAWABA - According to local authorities, at least 28 Pakistani pilgrims en route to Iraq were killed as their bust crashed in central Iran.
"A bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims overturned and caught fire in front of Dehshir-Taft checkpoint in the central province of Yazd on Tuesday night," Iranian state media reported.
Yazd province crisis management chief Ali Malek-zadeh stated that some of the injured are in critical condition, death toll is expected to rise. "28 people have been killed and 23 injured so far with the possibility of the death toll increasing,".
The Pakistani pilgrims were traveling from Iran to Iraq to attend the Arbaeen commemoration, one of the most important occasions on the Shiite calendar, which marked the 40th day of mourning for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson.
According to official data, almost 22 million pilgrims attended the anniversary last year in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala, where Hussein and his brother Abbas are buried.
