Afghan bus-tanker crash kills five; critical injuries in Baghlan

Kabul, October 30: Five passengers lost their lives and 20 others were hurt after a passenger bus and an oil tanker crashed head-on in northern Afghanistan's Baghlan province on Friday. Several of the wounded are in grave condition.

The collision happened early Friday on the Salang highway. Reports blamed the crash on carelessness by the bus driver. The injured were rushed to health centres in the vicinity for treatment.

Local media also reported a separate fatal accident in Badakhshan province on October 24, when a passenger vehicle rolled over. At least four people died and eight others were injured. A local official said the car was returning from the Kofab and Yaftal districts. Officials have not disclosed what caused the mishap. The injured were moved to the provincial hospital for care.

Badakhshan, a sparsely populated mountain province, has rugged terrain and limited road infrastructure, which frequently contribute to traffic accidents there.

According to a local police official, a road crash on September 23 in the northern Takhar province killed eight passengers and left four more injured. Provincial police spokesman Naqibullah Masroor said the incident occurred in Kalafgan district, in the Ghazestan area. Eight passengers died at the site, and the four injured were admitted to the provincial hospital in Takhar. The cause is still being investigated.

Provincial police spokesman Mohammad Yunus Yusufzai reported that on September 22 a minibus fell into a ravine in eastern Laghman province, killing one passenger and wounding nine. The accident took place in Pad Pakh district. Police responded immediately, and the injured were taken to a hospital in Mehtarlam, the provincial capital. Authorities said an inquiry has started but offered no further details.