Four people have been killed and thousands injured during celebrations of Iran’s annual fire festival ahead of the Persian new year, an official tells state TV.
“Two people died on Tuesday night, in addition to two others killed in recent days,” says Hassan Nouri, deputy director of the country’s emergency services.
Nouri says some 3,450 people had been injured in this year’s festivities.
The fire festival, an ancient Zoroastrian tradition, predates Islam and is celebrated on the last Wednesday of the Persian calendar, which ends this year on March 20.
The tradition remains popular among Iranians, who light and jump over bonfires while singing songs to mark the arrival of spring.
At this year’s celebrations, young people set off fireworks as others lobbed gas-filled bottles into fires, causing explosions.
— AFP
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