The crash happened at around 4 am local time near the city of Darab, some 170 km southeast of the province’s capital of Shiraz.

The bus, carrying schoolgirls from the neighboring province of Hormozgan, was travelling to Shiraz and went off the road near Rostaq county.

The girls on board the doomed bus were mainly from the cities of Minab and Rouadan, and were part of a convoy of 126 students traveling to Shiraz to attend a conference of talented students, an official said.

Ambulances and helicopters were used to rescue the victims, some of whom are in critical conditions.

The death toll is expected to rise.