73 killed in Afghanistan as crash becomes inferno
Print Edition
AT least 73 people were killed yesterday when two buses and an oil tanker collided and burst into flames in Afghanistan, in one of the worst road accidents in the war-battered nation.
Many of the dead were burned beyond recognition and dozens of others were left badly injured in the accident in Ghazni province, near the capital Kabul, one of the areas worst affected by the Taliban insurgency.
The vehicles were completely gutted and clouds of acrid smoke shrouded the scene of the crash on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, a major roadway linking Afghanistan’s two largest cities.
“The death toll has soared to 73,” ministry spokesman Ismail Kawoosi said, warning that it was expected to rise further. “Most of them are completely burned.”
Bloodied, dazed and badly burned, many of the survivors streamed into Ghazni’s main provincial hospital, while others were rushed in ambulances to health facilities in southern Kandahar.
The Kabul-Kandahar highway passes through militancy prone areas and many bus drivers are known to drive recklessly at top speeds so as not to get caught in insurgent activity.
“Our driver was at fault — he was driving too rashly,” said Esmatullah, one of the few passengers who survived the crash with minor injuries.
“Most bus drivers on the highways are known to smoke hashish, opium and other drugs. They are completely out of control,” he said.
Afghanistan has some of the world’s most dangerous roads, often in dilapidated condition and traffic rules are seldom enforced. Many people living in the country rely on old and rickety passenger vehicles, meaning that high casualty road traffic accidents are common.
In May last year, at least 18 people were killed when a minivan overturned in the western province of Badghis.
In April 2013, a bus hit a wrecked fuel tanker in Kandahar, killing 45 people.
The World Bank in November signed off a US$250-million grant to upgrade roads crossing Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains, crucial trade links that are often closed in winter by snow.
Insecurity is growing around Afghanistan as the Taliban press on with their 15-year insurgency against the Western-backed Kabul government.
The Islamists on April 12 announced the start of their spring offensive. Dubbed “Operation Omari” in honor of founding leader Mullah Omar, it vows large-scale attacks across the country.
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