KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Fifteen people, including five women and six children, were killed and three others injured when a passenger vehicle veered off a road and fell into a gorge in northeastern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, Taliban authorities said
In a statement on Saturday, the Taliban security command in Badakhshan said the incident took place around noon in the Samdar area of Arghanj khwa district. The vehicle, a flancoach-type passenger coach, was travelling from the provincial capital Faizabad to the district center of Arghanj khwa.
Taliban authorities identified poor road conditions as the primary cause, with heavy snowfall in recent days likely contributing to the driver losing control and the vehicle plunging into the gorge.
Traffic accidents remain a major public safety issue in Afghanistan, driven by poorly maintained roads, lack of traffic signage, overloaded vehicles, reckless driving, and severe weather conditions. Mountainous districts such as Arghanj khwa are especially vulnerable during winter, when snow and ice increase the risk of skidding and falls into ravines.
This incident follows a series of similar accidents reported across Afghanistan in recent days, as heavy snowfall and rainfall have affected multiple provinces.
