Traffic Police: The Overturned Bus Carrying Kerman Students Was Old

The head of the Traffic Police of the Islamic Republic confirmed three days after the overturning of a bus carrying elite students on the Mahaan-Kerman road, which resulted in the deaths of six people, that this bus was 'old' and had technical defects. Meanwhile, reactions to this incident have increased, with a former Minister of Education blaming local managers for it. Timour Hosseini, the head of the Traffic Police, stated that initial investigations indicate that the bus overturned due to a technical failure in the braking system while returning from a recreational camp to Kerman. He added, 'The issue of the bus being old has been examined, confirmed, and verified by experts, and the relevant transportation company will be referred to the authorities for legal action due to negligence.' However, this senior police official also emphasized that the accident was not a single-factor incident, stating, 'It is the result of a series of events that have come together to cause this incident.' While this is not the first time a student bus has been involved in fatal accidents in Iran, the families of the victims raised their voices in protest against government officials during the funeral of their loved ones on Saturday. The sister of one of the deceased and the father of one of the students called on Alireza Kazemi, the Minister of Education of the Islamic Republic, to take responsibility for this incident and to prevent such occurrences in the future. According to images published by Iranian media, a family member of the deceased students threw dirt at the Minister of Education, who was sitting by one of the students' graves. Additionally, Kazem Akrami, a former Minister of Education, stated in an interview with ILNA that government officials were to blame for this incident. He said, 'If this incident had happened to one of the officials, they would certainly hold the provincial and district officials responsible for this event accountable. In my opinion, most of the blame falls on the person who is a manager and chooses incompetent individuals to procure transportation means.' In recent days, many social media users, including artists, have reacted to the deaths of the students. Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote on social media: 'The death of the talented girls from Kerman shows the heavy toll the people of Iran pay for the continuation of religious tyranny.' She added, 'A government that turns lives into death, joys into sorrows, and growth and flourishing into decay. A government that, instead of committing to the people of this land and helping to ensure the comfort, peace, development, and welfare of citizens, engages in the plundering and looting of public assets and resources. A government from which elites, talented individuals, and specialists flee, preferring any other land to their own, and those who remain do not survive.' However, the domino effect of fatal accidents continued after this incident. Exactly one day after this incident, the overturning of a bus carrying 14 members of the girls' water polo team from Urmia resulted in two deaths and over 20 injuries.