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TEHRAN — A stampede broke out Tuesday at the funeral for a top Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike, and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 injured as thousands thronged the procession, Iranian news reports said.
The stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Suleimani, as the procession began, said Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency medical services.
There was no information about what set off the crush. Online videos showed people lying apparently lifeless, their faces covered by clothing. Emergency crews performed CPR on others as people wailed and cried out to God.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions,” Koulivand said.
State TV reported the death toll at 56, with 213 injured, citing Koulivand.
Suleimani’s burial was delayed, with no new time given, because of concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered, the semiofficial Iranian Students’ News Agency, or ISNA, said.
A procession in Tehran on Monday drew more than 1 million people, crowding both main avenues and side streets in the Iranian capital. Such massive crowds can prove dangerous. A smaller stampede at the 1989 funeral for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed at least eight people and injured hundreds.
https://www.latimes.com/world-natio...ampede-funeral-slain-general-qassem-soleimani
