Tehran: At least 56 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a stampede that erupted on Tuesday at the funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a US airstrike last week.
According to the report, the stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, as the procession got underway. Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road, others shouting and trying to help them.
Iranian state TV gave the casualty toll in its online report, without saying from 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.
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“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 America for a slaying that drastically raised tensions across the Middle East.
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