Iraq road accident during religious gathering claims lives of 18 pilgrims
Iraq road accident during religious gathering claims lives of 18 pilgrims
A collision between two minibuses in northern Iraq claimed the lives of at least 18 people, medical officials said on Saturday (September 2). The deceased pilgrims were mostly Iranian
The "horrible accident" occurred between Dujail and Samarra, state news agency INA said, citing Khaled Burhan, director of health services in Salaheddin province.
The minibuses crashed into each other before midnight on Friday (August 31) killing 18 people and wounding 15, the news agency AFP reported citing a medical official in Salaheddin.
As per reports, the same source, citing accounts of witnesses revealed that one of the drivers was believed to have fallen asleep during the drive.
Both the drivers also lost their lives in the incident, said an official from the area's traffic authority.
One minibus veered into opposite lane: Official
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An official said that one of the minibuses had zagged into the opposite lane.
Initially, INA had reported a death toll of 16 and a number of injured as 13 and said that the ones killed in the incident were Shiite Muslim pilgrims from neighbouring Iran.
As per health officials, last year, on September 11, 11 Iranian Shiite pilgrims and their Iraqi driver lost their lives when their minibus crashed into a truck in Babil province, south of Baghdad.
Millions of Shiite pilgrims, many of them from Iran, each year travel to the holy shrine city of Karbala for Arbaeen, which is one of the world's biggest religious gatherings.
Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, a founding figure in Shiite Islam and grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, by the forces of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.
As per the figures issued by Iraq's interior ministry on Friday, more than 2.6 million pilgrims have flown into Iraq or crossed its land borders since Arbaeen began this year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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