9 killed, 5 injured in bus-truck collision in E. Iran -- media

TEHRAN -- At least nine people were killed and five others wounded in a collision between a bus and a semi-trailer truck on an intercity road in Iran's eastern South Khorasan province early Saturday, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The incident, which occurred on the road from Arianshahr city to Birjand county, was reported to the provincial Red Crescent Society at 12:34 am local time (2104 GMT on Friday), following which eight operational teams, comprising 15 rescuers, were sent to the scene, IRNA quoted Mehdi Mohammadpour, the society's managing director, as saying in an address to reporters.

He added that following the collision, the bus caught fire, stressing that all the wounded were transferred to nearby medical centers.