ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least five people were killed and dozens others injured after a bus carrying Arbaeen pilgrims overturned in Iraq’s southern city of Basra, Iran’s Khuzestan Red Crescent reported on Wednesday.

Basra’s health directorate said that the accident occurred between the Rumaila area and the Sadra checkpoint, adding that at least 40 people were injured and several others killed, without specifying the number.

Speaking to reporters at the site of the accident, Basra Provincial Council member Aqeel Al-Furaiji said that the collision occurred after one of the tires on the bus blew out, leading the vehicle to overturn. Furaiji said that 43 people were injured, and “seven to eight” people were killed.

The Khuzestan Red Crescent reported that the bus collided with a minibus on the Basra-Najaf highway, leaving at least five killed and 57 injured.

Millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world annually undertake a pilgrimage to the southern Iraqi city of Karbala to participate in Arbaeen, which marks 40 days following the anniversary of Ashura—the day Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed in the deserts of Karbala in the seventh century.

Violent traffic accidents on the road to Karbala are reported every year around the time of the pilgrimage.

Iraqi interior ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri on Wednesday called on all citizens to adhere to the guidelines and speed regulations, “especially in light of the significant rise in temperatures.”

Ahmed Karami-Asad, Iran’s traffic police chief, on Monday announced that they have recorded at least 125 deaths and 2,917 injuries in five border provinces since July 25.

More than 3.4 million Iranians have visited Iraq in recent days for Arbaeen pilgrimage, out of which over two million have already returned, according to Iranian authorities.