More than 15,000 people have been killed in traffic accidents in Iran since March, 2005, the official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.

IRNA quoted a report by the Iranian Coroner Office issued on Wednesday as saying that the figure, exactly at 15,433, showed a 6. 3 percent increase compared to last year.

Meanwhile, 18.8 percent of those killed were women, and Tehran province, the most populated in the country, stood at the top of the list of death toll from road accident.

Iran has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world, and official statistics shows that in every 24 minutes there is one person dead in a road accident. Transport experts blame most of the accidents on hazardous roads and reckless driving.

Source: Xinhua