At least 16 people were killed in an accident when a mini-bus drove off to the valley in the country's western Kordestan province on Thursday, a semi-official Fars news agency reported.

12 others were injured in the accident, said the Kordestan Province's Red Crescent Society Director Payam Jalali.

The injured people have been sent to hospitals in Sanandaj city, the provincial capital, said the official.

The cause of the accident will be announced after investigations are completed, said the report.