ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 12 people were killed and 16 others injured when a bus carrying oil and gas workers overturned in western Iran’s Ilam province (Rojhelat) on Saturday evening, Iranian state media reported, highlighting the country’s road safety crisis, which claims nearly 20,000 lives annually.
Iran's official, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 12, after earlier figures from provincial authorities put the number at nine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered relevant authorities to provide urgent medical care to the 16 people thought to be injured, later reported IRNA.
The bus was transporting workers employed at the Dehloran NGL 3100 oil and gas project when it overturned at approximately 7:25 pm local time on the Dasht Abbas–Murmuri road, near Dehloran.
Authorities declared one day of public mourning across Ilam province and two days in Abdanan, where many of the casualties lived.
Abdanan Prosecutor Amrollah Misai said authorities were investigating the circumstances of the crash, including possible negligence.
“The cause of the accident, the factors contributing to it and any possible negligence or violations are under investigation,” Misai said, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). “If any wrongdoing or negligence by individuals or responsible institutions is established, those responsible will face firm legal action without leniency.”
The tragedy comes days after Iran released figures showing that 10,357 people were killed in traffic accidents during the first six months of the Iranian calendar year (beginning March 21), revealing a wider concern for people on Iranian roads.
The Iranian Legal Medicine Organization said that another 224,220 people were injured during the same period, an increase of nearly 11 percent compared with the previous year.
Among these statistics, drivers and passengers between the ages of 18-24 were the top victims of incidents on the road.
Iran's road fatality rate is approximately 21 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with around seven in neighboring Turkey and 4.3 across the European Union.
Turkey recorded 6,035 road deaths in 2025, while the EU registered 19,350 across its 27 member states.
Iranian authorities and road safety experts have repeatedly criticized the poor quality of domestically manufactured vehicles, inadequate road infrastructure, and weak enforcement of safety standards.
Some Iranian-made vehicles have been described in domestic reporting as “chariots of death”, reflecting longstanding concerns over their crashworthiness and limited safety features.
Iranian police officials estimate that traffic accidents cost the country approximately seven to eight percent of its annual economic output through fatalities, injuries, medical treatment, disability, and lost economic productivity.
Deputy traffic police chief Hassan Momeni said earlier this year that more than six million Iranians (of a population of over 93 million) had been injured or disabled in road accidents over the past two decades, with an estimated 10 to 15 percent suffering permanent disabilities.
The mounting human and economic costs have intensified calls for stricter vehicle safety standards and investment in the country's ageing road network.
