35 mourners died during a stampede on Monday at the funeral of late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Monday, state controlled Iranian TV reported Tuesday.
Thousands of Iranians had rushed to see the coffin of Soleimani who before his death enjoyed a cult-like status in Iran and controlled the Quds Forces arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The three day farewell to the general which ended on Monday descended into chaos after thousands of people rushed to his home town of Kerman, rushing to see Soleimani’s coffin, and a stampede broke out which left 35 people dead and 48 injured.
The head of Iran’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Koulivand spoke by telephone to state TV and confirmed that a stampede had broken out in the packed streets.
‘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.
Iran’s leaders have promised to retaliate the killing of Soleimani’s and the US has placed it’s military on high alert.
