Afghanistan Horror: 70 Passengers Burnt Alive After Bus Carrying Migrants Catches Fire Following Accident

Afghanistan bus accident news: At least 70 commuters have been killed and three others sustained injuries in a deadly road mishap in western Afghanistan's Herat province, head of the rescue department in the province, Abdul Zahir Noorzai, said on Wednesday. The accident took place on Tuesday night after a passenger bus collided with a motorbike and a mini-truck on a road linking the neighbouring Iran to Herat city in Afghanistan, Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting the official. As per reports, the bus was carrying fuel that led to fire following crash with a bike. 

 

The majority of the victims, including women and children, were Afghan refugees who returned from Iran to settle in their homeland, Afghanistan, according to the official. In the meantime, another official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the passenger bus caught fire and many bodies could not be recognised. The number of the victims, according to the official, could go up as the collection of information continues.

Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, mainly due to poor road conditions and driver carelessness. Nearly 1.8 million Afghans have been forcibly returned from Iran in the past few months. A further 184,459 were sent back from Pakistan and more than 5,000 were deported from Turkiye since the beginning of the year. Additionally, nearly 10,000 Afghan prisoners have been repatriated, mostly from Pakistan.

 

The Taliban criticised neighbouring countries in July for the mass expulsion of Afghans, as Iran and Pakistan expelled foreigners who they say are living there illegally. The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said some 6 million Afghan refugees remain overseas.

 

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Earlier this month, twin road accidents left seven commuters dead and injured another in northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, said a news release of the provincial police office.In the first accident, which took place in Shahr-i-Bazarg district, five travellers lost their lives and another was badly injured, the news release said.

 

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In a similar accident, two commuters were killed after their car turned turtle in the neighbouring Raghistan district on the same day, it said. In a similar incident on July 31, one person was killed and 14 others injured after their vehicle veered off the road and turned turtle in central Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, the state-owned Bakhtar News Agency reported. The mishap occurred in the Kotal Bukak area of Yakawlang district, where a mini-bus overturned due to a technical fault, killing one traveller on the spot and injuring 14 others, including women and children, Bakhtar quoted Mohammad Khawani Rasa, as saying.

 

(With inputs from agencies)