Bus carrying gas workers overturns in Iran, killing three and injuring sixteen

A bus carrying 27 workers and a driver from the Dehloran natural gas liquids processing project overturned on a road between Dasht-e Abbas and Murmuri in Ilam province, near the Iraq border, on Saturday evening. Governor Behzad Nourmohammadi told the state-run IRNA news agency that three passengers died after being taken to medical facilities, raising the death toll from the incident to 12. He warned that the number could rise because several injured passengers remain in critical condition.

Sixteen people were hospitalized: ten in Dezful, five in Abdanan and one in Ilam. Abdanan prosecutor Amrollah Misai said investigators are examining whether negligence by individuals or government agencies contributed to the crash. The cause has not yet been established, though a driver familiar with the route said the bend where the bus overturned has a history of accidents.

The accident adds to Iran's ongoing road safety crisis, with more than 19,000 traffic deaths recorded annually for four consecutive years. Figures from the Forensic Medicine Organization, cited by ILNA news agency, show 10,357 fatalities in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, including 1,868 people aged 18 to 24. Police officials have repeatedly called for improvements in vehicle manufacturing standards, road infrastructure and enforcement.

The industry minister, Mohammad Atabak, recently asked for at least a one-year delay in implementing new vehicle safety standards, citing currency shortages, emergency conditions and automakers' financial constraints.