TEHRAN — Over a bus rollover which took place early Wednesday on a road linking the southern cities of Shiraz and Kerman 19 passengers passed away and dozens got injured, Khabaronline reported.

According to the reports all the passengers were soldiers who were coming back from the garrison in Kerman and were heading to the southern city of Ahvaz.

Morteza Salimi, an official with the Rescue and Relief Organization, announced that 16 of the passengers die right at the scene and three of them at the hospital.

Moreover, Mojtaba Khaledi, Iran’s Emergency Services spokesman said that 8 of the passengers are in a critical condition.

Iran’s chief of road police Mohammad Hossein Hamidi explained that the bus driver’s incompetence in controlling the vehicle coupled with the road’s bad condition resulted in such a dreadful accident.

MQ/MG