35 killed, scores injured in stampede at Gen Soleimani’s funeral procession
35 people were killed and 48 others injured in a stampede that erupted at a funeral procession for Gen Qasem Soleimani reports Iranian state television.
According to the media report, the stampede erupted in Kerman, the hometown of slain Soleimani where the procession was under way.
The exact time of his burial is not yet clear, as the authorities later delayed Soleimani’s burial, citing concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered, the semi-official ISNA news agency said. as officials postponed the burial after crowding getting so bad that dozens of people died in a stampede.
Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road, others shouting and trying to give help them.
“Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions”, said Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, adding at least 190 people had been injured.
The last remains of Gen Soleimani were flown via passenger jet into Iran earlier this week. The coffin was paraded through the streets of multiple major Iranian cities including Tehran, Qom, Mashhad, and Ahvaz.
More than a million people flooded the streets across the four cities, to pay their last respects to the top general.