Mountain Road Disaster: Passenger Minibus Overturns in Mazandaran Province, Leaving Four Dead

Sari, Iran—Twisted metal and shattered window glass littered the steep asphalt curve of a treacherous mountain pass in northern Mazandaran Province early Friday morning. A long-distance passenger minibus veered off the narrow mountain lane and overturned multiple times down a steep rocky embankment. Iranian Red Crescent rescue teams and emergency medical units deployed specialized ambulance helicopters to reach the isolated crash site.

First responders working on the slope recovered the bodies of four passengers who succumbed to severe impact trauma before medical personnel arrived. Emergency technicians treated seven surviving passengers for multiple bone fractures and lacerations, airlifting the most critical cases to regional trauma hospitals in Sari. Traffic police preliminary reports indicate brake failure combined with slick road conditions from morning mist caused the driver to lose control.

Mazandaran road police closed the mountain corridor in both directions to allow heavy mechanical cranes to hoist the wrecked minibus from the ravine. Provincial transport authorities have repeatedly warned motorists about the hazards of navigating aging commercial transport vehicles along steep, unbarricaded mountain routes. Judicial magistrates opened an official inquiry into the technical maintenance records of the transport company operating the route.

Families of the victims gathered outside the provincial forensic medicine center awaiting formal identification procedures and burial permits. Rescue personnel concluded their sweep of the ravine late Friday afternoon, confirming no additional passengers remained trapped beneath the wreckage. Local traffic patrols maintain reduced speed advisories across the mountain pass as cleanup operations continue.