Iranian media have reported that a vehicle carrying Afghan citizens overturned in Sistan and Baluchestan province, leaving five people dead and seven others injured.
According to ILNA News Agency, the incident occurred on Wednesday evening (December 10) along the Saravan-Khash highway.
Ahmad Karami-Asad, head of Iran’s traffic police, said the Peugeot sedan was carrying 12 Afghan nationals when the driver lost control due to speeding and negligence, causing the car to veer off the road and overturn.
Karami-Asad said the 12 Afghan passengers had been packed into the car in an unsafe and illegal manner, and that the driver lost control of the vehicle because of reckless driving and excessive speed.
This is the latest in a string of deadly road accidents in recent months that have claimed the lives of Afghan migrants in Iran.
Many Afghans, facing unemployment and strict visa requirements, resort to irregular and risky migration routes. Along these routes, migrants have repeatedly died in traffic accidents or been killed in shootings by Iranian border guards.
Earlier this month, at least 10 Afghan nationals were shot dead by Iranian border forces near the Farah border.
