Iran says nuclear inspector killed in car crash

(CNN) -- A U.N. nuclear inspector from South Korea was killed Tuesday in a car accident in Iran, state-run media reported.

Ok-Seok Seo was traveling with another inspector from the International Atomic Energy Agency near the Khandab nuclear complex in central Markazi province when their vehicle overturned, state news agencies said, citing Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

The IAEA issued a statement saying it was informed of the accident and has been in touch with the inspectors' families and Iranian authorities.

The other inspector was from Slovenia, the agency said.

IAEA inspectors visit Iran regularly to look at Iran's nuclear sites. Senior teams went to Iran earlier this year in an effort to address concerns raised in an agency report last November that Iran may be conducting research aimed at making bombs.

Iran denies allegations that it is working on nuclear weapons and says its program is solely directed toward developing civilian nuclear energy.

Accidents on Iranian roads "cause thousands of deaths and injuries every year, and cost the country's economy billions of dollars," according to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The rate of traffic accidents in Iran is around 20 times the world average, with nearly 28,000 people killed every year, UNICEF says in an article on its website.

About 300,000 people are injured or disabled in road accidents in the country each year, the article said.