WORLD NEWS: NINE PEOPLE DIE IN CRASH DURING IRAN HOLIDAY SEASON

Read Time:54 Second

Agency Report

The worst accident since the start of the Persian New Year holiday claimed nine lives in a car crash in northeastern Iran on Thursday, according to official media.

Since the beginning of the holiday season, which runs from March 19 to April 1 and during which many Iranians travel to see family, 585 people have reportedly died on the roads, according to the police.

Two cars collided and caught fire in the most recent accident in the Semnan province, east of the capital Tehran, according to the emergency services and the official IRNA news agency.

According to IRNA, 1,217 people lost their lives over the Christmas season of the previous year.

The high death toll has been attributed to careless driving, low-quality vehicles, and the state of some road segments.

In 2022, a police official charged that domestic automakers were charging the same as foreign corporations for “unsafe” vehicles that they were supplying to the public.

2018 saw the withdrawal of several foreign automakers from Iran due to the US’s reimposition of sanctions over the nation’s nuclear programme.

AFP