52 killed in two bus accidents in central Afghanistan

(AFP): Two bus accidents involving a fuel tanker and a truck on a highway through central Afghanistan killed 52 people and injured 65, the Taliban government spokesmen said on Thursday.

The accidents happened in Ghazni province on the same highway between the capital Kabul and southern Kandahar city on late Wednesday, provincial head of information and culture Hamidullah Nisar said on X, without specifying how many people were killed and injured in each accident.

“We learned with great regret that two fatal traffic accidents occurred on the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, in which 52 of our compatriots were killed and 65 others were injured,” said chief government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

One bus collided with a fuel tanker near Shahbaz village in central Ghazni while the other hit a truck in the eastern district of Andar, Nisar said.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and transported the injured to hospital, with some in “serious condition”, he added.

Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving on highways, and a lack of regulation.

In March, more than 20 people were killed and 38 injured when a bus collided with a fuel tanker and burst into flames in southern Helmand province.

Another serious accident involving a fuel tanker took place in December 2022, when the vehicle overturned and caught fire in Afghanistan’s high-altitude Salang Pass, killing 31 people and leaving dozens more with burns.