Tasnim � Three people were killed and 30 others injured after a bus carrying Iraqi pilgrims veered off the freeway near the Iranian city of Shahroud, Semnan province, east of capital Tehran, a local official said.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Tuesday, Nasser Salamanpour, the deputy head of Shahroud�s Emergency Department, said the bus swerved sharply to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

Five ambulances were quickly dispatched to the scene after receiving reports from the city�s emergency centers, he added.

Salamanpour said the incident left 3 Iraqi nationals dead and 30 others wounded.

Twenty four of the injured have sustained minor injuries and are now being treated at a hospital in the city, he said.

Carrying 45 Iraqi pilgrims, the bus had left the holy city of Mashhad, northeast of Iran, Monday night and was heading to the holy city of Qom, central Iran, the provincial official went on to add.