Two journalists killed in 'tragic' Iranian bus accident

A fatal bus accident in Iran on Wednesday left two journalists dead and at least 22 others wounded,  Anadolu Agency confirmed.

The vehicle, which was full of journalists at the time, crashed in the Islamic Republic's West Azerbaijan region.

It had been travelling towards Lake Urmia, close to Turkey, from the capital Tehran when it flipped over.

Both of the victims were women, the Anadolu Agency reported, identifying one as Reyhaneh Yassini and from the official Islamic Republic News Agency and the other Mahshad Karimi from the Iran Students News Agency.

All those wounded in the crash were transported to West Azerbaijan medical facilities, some of which had been gravely hurt, the report said.

The Iranian Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the bus contained 20 members from the press, four of which were its own representatives and two Urmia Lake Rehabilitation Headquarters workers.

They had been driving to the lake to cover attempts at reinvigorating what had been the sixth-biggest saltwater lake anywhere in the world.

Lake Urmia has significantly decreased in size during recent years.

Outgoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani released a message about the crash explaining that it had "caused deep sorrow and shock".

He thanked the victims for their commitment to the country before giving his "condolences to bereaved families and members of the country's media".

Meanwhile, Javad Zarif, the Islamic Republic's foreign minister, also gave "sincere condolences", tweeting that the incident had "greatly moved" him.

Meanwhile, the chief of incoming President Ebrahim Raisi's campaign, Ali Nikzad, issued a release calling what happened "tragic".

Ebrahim Raisi won a presidential election that has drawn strong international criticism and recorded the lowest turnout in the Islamic republic's history.https://t.co/8zosLQRF2D

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 20, 2021

Nikzad also noted that he was communicating with the West Azerbaijan governor.

The crash came just days after the man Nikzad helped elect, Raisi, won the nation's recent presidential poll.

The hard-line cleric was the clear favourite going into the vote, which received much international criticism and was marred by a low turnout and the disqualification of many candidates.

The Islamic Republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei conceded on Twitter that some of those excluded might have been "wronged" by the Guardian Council, the unelected body that vetted them.