TEHRAN, Iran — At least 11 people have died and 24 others were injured after a passenger bus lost control and overturned along a major transport route in central Iran.
The disaster occurred along the Saveh-Hamedan freeway in Markazi province, southwest of the capital, Tehran. Emergency response teams and medical crews rushed to the scene shortly after the vehicle veered off course, providing immediate first aid to survivors before transferring 24 injured passengers to nearby medical facilities for urgent treatment.
According to initial reports from provincial traffic police, driver fatigue and drowsiness were identified as the primary causes behind the fatal rollover. Law enforcement officials noted that formal technical investigations remain ongoing to confirm all surrounding factors. Authorities have not yet disclosed the full list of victims or the precise origin and destination points of the transit trip.
The tragic incident highlights long-standing concerns surrounding road safety across Iran. The nation ranks among those with the highest rates of traffic fatalities globally, recording more than 17,000 deaths on its highways every year.
Transportation safety experts consistently point to a combination of interconnected factors behind the high casualty rates. Aging vehicle fleets with inadequate safety standards form a baseline hazard, while widespread traffic violations—such as speeding and severe driver fatigue caused by insufficient rest breaks on long journeys—frequently trigger deadly accidents. Compounding these issues are logistics delays and resource constraints within regional emergency response infrastructure, which often hamper timely intervention during critical post-crash windows.
Saturday's rollover marks the second high-fatality vehicle disaster in Iran within weeks, following a deadly collision earlier in the month near the city of Sanandaj, where a fuel tanker crashed and exploded, leaving 11 dead.
In response to the recurring tragedies, transportation advocates and public safety groups are calling for stricter enforcement of road safety laws, modernizing transit infrastructure, and implementing automated tracking systems to monitor driver shift hours across major highway networks.
Local authorities continue to urge long-distance commercial operators to strictly enforce mandatory rest periods for drivers navigating high-volume freeways.
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