A bus carrying Syiah Muslim pilgrims returning from Iraq through Iran fell from a highway into a ravine in southwest Pakistan, killing at least 12 people and injuring 32 others, police and officials said.
The accident happened on the Makran coastal highway early yesterday, local police chief Qazi Sabir said. The driver lost control of the bus after its brakes failed while passing through Lasbela district in Balochistan province.
The victims’ bodies were brought home on a Pakistani military plane last Saturday and buried in southern Sindh province.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in separate statements expressed their deep sorrow over the accident. They asked authorities to ensure the provision of the best medical treatment for the injured pilgrims.
Thousands of Syiahs travel to Iraq’s holy city of Karbala to commemorate Arbaeen – Arabic for 40 – marking the end of the annual 40-day mourning period after the date of the 7th century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, a central figure in Syiah Islam. — AP
