KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least six people, including women and children, were killed and 42 others injured after a passenger bus veered off the road and overturned in northern Baghlan province, Taliban authorities have confirmed.
According to the Taliban-run Bakhtar news agency, the accident occurred in the Gulai-5 area of northern Salang late Saturday night. The bus, traveling from Pul-e-Khumri city toward Kabul, lost control on icy roads and overturned. Among the victims are reported to be women and children.
The injured were taken to the provincial hospital in Baghlan, where five were reported in critical condition.
The Salang highway is often affected by heavy snowfall, ice, and storms during winter, frequently causing traffic accidents and road closures. Poor infrastructure, unsafe driving, and weak enforcement of traffic laws contribute to high rates of road fatalities in Afghanistan.
Recent months have seen multiple major traffic accidents. In two separate incidents last month, over 30 people were killed or injured along the Kabul-Kandahar highway. In August, more than 100 people lost their lives or were injured in two other separate accidents on the same route, including Afghan nationals returning from Iran.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, road accidents have increased sharply. Data compiled by Etilaatroz and KabulNow show a fivefold rise in traffic incidents over three years. Official figures recorded 1,187 accidents between March 2021 and March 2022, 2,662 the following year, and at least 5,520 between March 2023 and March 2024, marking nearly an 80% increase over two years.
