Tehran: A stampede erupted on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a US airstrike last week, killing 35 people and injuring 48 others, state television reported.
According to the report, the stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as the procession got underway.
Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road, others shouting and trying to give help them. Iranian state TV gave the casualty toll in its online report, without saying where it obtained the information.
Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, earlier spoke by telephone to state TV and confirmed the stampede took place. “Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions,” he said.
A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main thoroughfares and side streets in Tehran.
Soleimani’s death has sparked calls across Iran for revenge against Americafor a slaying that’s drastically raised tensions across the Middle East. Early on Tuesday, the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to “set ablaze” places supported by the United States over the killing of a top Iranian general in a US airstrike last week. (AP)
