BAGHDAD, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed and 23 others injured on Saturday when a tourist bus collided with a truck and overturned in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, local police and security sources said.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Hamid from the Iraqi police said the bus was carrying tourists from Baghdad toward Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh, when the accident occurred on the main highway in the southern part of the province.
Some of the injured sustained severe injuries and were sent to nearby hospitals, according to a local security source.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash, the source added, noting that some injured passengers said the driver had periodically fallen asleep while driving.
Traffic accidents are common in Iraq due to poor road conditions and widespread disregard for safety regulations. ■
