Buses, fuel tanker collide in Afghanistan

The spokesman confirmed that “up to 52” people, including women and children, had been killed in the crash, while 73 injured passengers have been taken to the hospital, and many of them are in critical condition.

All three vehicles were set ablaze after the collision on the main road linking the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar.

“Most of the dead were burned beyond recognition”, ministry spokesman Ismail Kawoosi said.

Injured Afghan men lie in an ambulance after the accident.

Local officials said that the overloaded buses were carrying more than 120 people.

Road accidents are common in the South Asian country, where roads are mostly poorly maintained and traffic laws are not often enforced, according to reports. Another source said he believes the crash was caused by reckless driving.

He said local residents helped firefighters and first responders pull survivors from the wreckage.

The two buses were traveling from Afghan capital of Kabul to southern Kandahar province. Previous multiple pile-ups include an accident in which 24 people were killed when a bus plummeted down a ravine after a head-on collision with a truck in December 2015.

Two buses and an oil tanker collided in Afghanistan on Sunday leading to at least 73 deaths.

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.