The accident occurred at around 10:30am when a Kia truck and a Mercedes collided on Girshin road near the Zakho tunnel, also causing significant material damage in addition to killing one and injuring 20 others, according to Bashir Yousif, the media head for Zakho traffic police.
Amir Ali, spokesperson for Zakho's health directorate, told Rudaw that nine out of the people wounded are women while the remaining 20 are men, adding that they have all been hospitalized and receiving treatment.
“They are under medical care. If any of them needs a surgery, the surgery will be conducted immediately and they will receive treatment,” said Ali.
Car accidents are a common occurrence in the Kurdistan Region in comparison to many countries.
Over 3,700 traffic accidents occurred across the Kurdistan Region in 2022, killing at least 445 people and injuring 7,250 others, according to data from the Region’s general traffic police directorate.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2018, road traffic injuries were the leading killer of people aged five to 29 globally, with an estimated rate of traffic fatalities per 100,00 population in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of 20.7% in 2016.
