One killed, 15 injured in a 17-vehicle pileup in Iran

Tehran: One person was killed and 15 others were injured in a 17-vehicle chain-reaction pileup in the central Iranian city of Arak, Markazi province, reported the semi-official Mehr news agency.

The accident involved several collisions among five semi-trailer trucks, two trucks and 10 sedans on the road from Arak to Salafchegan in the northern province of Qom, Mehr quoted Alireza Shahrjerdi, Managing Director of Markazi province’s Red Crescent Society, as saying on Wednesday.

The pileup was initially caused by a sedan and a truck skidding into each other due to the heavy fog and slippery road. The first accident was followed by several collisions among other vehicles, he added.

A total of 44 people were affected by the incident, Shahrjerdi noted, adding 11 of the injured were transferred to hospital and the rest received first aid at the scene of the accident, Xinhua news agency reported.