Over 50 dead as returnees’ bus crashes in Herat

KABUL (Pajhwok): More than 50 people have been killed after a passenger bus carrying refugees recently returned from Iran collided with a lorry in western Herat province, an official said on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Ghulam Nabi Nabizada said the accident occurred on the Kabul–Herat highway in Guzara district on Tuesday night.

He said the 404-type passenger bus, due to excessive speed and reckless driving, veered off the road and, following a violent collision with a lorry, caught fire.

He added that security forces, together with medical and firefighting teams, immediately arrived at the scene and began transferring the deceased and injured to health centres.

Meanwhile, local sources in Guzara district told Pajhwok Afghan News that at least 55 people lost their lives and three others were wounded in the incident.

Farshid Dosti, a local resident, said the accident took place at around 9:30pm on the main highway of Guzara district and that all the bus passengers were returnee migrants from Iran.

kk/sa