Five people were killed in a head-on collision in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, the provincial government office said on Monday. The crash occurred on Sunday night in the Zard Sang area of Dushi district when two fuel tankers collided and burst into flames, said the office, adding that a speeding vehicle that arrived at the scene was quickly engulfed in the blaze, trapping its five commuters, who died on the spot, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Kabul-Kandahar Crash Kills
Several other vehicles were also caught in the fire, the office added. Authorities attributed the accident to drivers’ negligence. On April 4, at least one person was killed and five others seriously injured in a traffic accident on the major Kabul-Kandahar highway in eastern Afghanistan’s Wardak province, the official Bakhtar news agency reported. The collision took place on Saturday evening in Sayyed Abad district of the province. Following the accident, the injured were promptly transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
Afghanistan Roads Pose Safety Risks
The incident has brought renewed attention to road safety challenges on Afghanistan’s vital transportation corridors. On April 3, two commuters were killed and 13 others sustained injuries as a passenger bus veered from the road in eastern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, provincial police spokesman Khalid Sarhadi said. The deadly mishap took place on the main road in Qarabagh district early Friday morning, the official said, adding that efforts were being made to search for a missing boy.
Investigation Underway into Crashes
Blaming reckless driving for the accident, Sarhadi said an investigation into the accident is underway. On March 28, one commuter was killed and 10 others sustained injuries as a minibus struck two motorists in east Afghanistan’s Laghman province, said a statement of the provincial police office.
A mini-bus, according to the statement, struck a three-wheel rickshaw and a motorbike simultaneously due to carelessness in the provincial capital Mehtarlam on March 28, killing one on the spot and injuring 10 others, including five children and two women. All the injured commuters were shifted to the hospital for medical treatment, the statement said, calling on drivers to respect traffic rules and regulations while driving to avoid road accidents. –IANS akl/