Five Iranian pilgrims were killed and at least 57 injured when a bus carrying people traveling to the Arbaeen ceremony collided with a minibus on the Najaf–Basra road in Iraq, the Iranian Red Crescent said on Wednesday.
“This is the first time emergency teams have entered Iraqi territory, and despite the special conditions and distance, they were able to transfer the injured swiftly and in full coordination to treatment centers in Iran,” Abolfazl Mahrokh, spokesman for Iran’s emergency services, said on Wednesday.
Ten operational teams were dispatched to the crash site, the Red Crescent’s Khuzestan branch said. Most of the injured were from southern Khuzestan province and heading to Iraq’s religious cities.
Iranian media earlier cited driver error and the bus striking a roadside barrier as the cause.
The Arbaeen ceremony marks the end of the 40-day mourning period after Ashura, commemorating the death of Imam Hussain ibn Ali.
Each year, millions of Shia Muslims travel to Karbala and other holy sites, many walking hundreds of kilometers.
125 people had died in road accidents in five border provinces between July 26 and August 12 during Arbaeen-related travel, Ahmad Karami-Asad, head of Iran’s traffic police, said.
With the latest incident, the death toll rose to 130, with nearly 3,000 injured.
State resources heavily committed to pilgrimage
The National Road Transport Organization urged the public to avoid booking domestic bus travel from Wednesday to Friday, intercity fleets being redirected for returning pilgrims.
“All national capacities had been mobilized to serve Arbaeen pilgrims,” Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on August 4.
The annual event receives significant budget allocations. In July, the Red Crescent said it had collected over 31 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies worth 2.7 million dollars for pilgrims, while a government official under late President Ebrahim Raisi had earlier said roughly 130 million dollars had been spent on infrastructure over 33 months.
Since 2010, when official records first showed 40,000 participants, the number of Iranian pilgrims has grown to the millions, driven by active government promotion, public funding, and free services along the pilgrimage routes.
