ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least four students were killed on Tuesday when a minibus overturned in southern Sulaimani province’s Garmiyan administration, traffic and education officials said.
“A minibus carrying students overturned near Hasira village on the Kalar-Kifri road,” Garmiyan police spokesperson Saman Ali told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman. “Four students were killed and seven others injured.”
The minibus driver blamed an incoming car which turned his way, leading him to “lose control and the minibus overturned,” according to Ali, who added that the fatalities are all girls.
The Kurdistan Region’s education ministry extended its condolences to the families of the victims shortly after the crash, stressing it is ready to assist the injured.
“We will do whatever is necessary to service the injured,” Minister Alan Hama Saeed said, adding that he has spoken with Health Minister Saman Barzinji and local Garmiyan officials to assist the victims.
The students were on their way to Kifri when the accident occurred.
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. The data for 2023 is yet to be released.
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