A police chase in southeastern Iran ended in tragedy earlier this month when it caused an accident between two cars, killing four people. In the incident, on August 3, a police patrol attempted to stop a "soukhtbar", a local name for smugglers who transport cheap Iranian petrol to neighbouring Pakistan in cars equipped with makeshift plastic tanks. The fatal accident led to protests by locals in Iran’s third-poorest province, where unemployed young men are increasingly turning to fuel-smuggling to make a living.
A video posted on social media captured the moment of the fatal accident: a police pickup chasing a smuggler’s car on a desert highway, the two vehicles in the wrong lane racing into oncoming traffic. The smuggler’s car collides with another vehicle. Its makeshift plastic fuel tank bursts, sending fuel dozens of metres into the air. The police pickup briefly pauses, then, as the two smashed cars start to burn, it drives on.
