Truck accident kills 18 in Afghanistan

JALALABAD, Afghanistan: A truck overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 18 people on board including 10 children, a provincial official told AFP.

Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving and a lack of regulation.

The vehicle was carrying Afghan families returning from Pakistan, where they had been living, according to Abdul Malik Niazay, spokesperson for the governor of Laghman province.

“Eighteen people (have died), including 10 children, five women and three men. In addition, 29 people have been injured,” the spokesperson said.

The accident happened on the road between Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and capital Kabul.

Authorities in Pakistan have toughened their stance on Afghan migrants and refugees in their country — causing an outflow that often includes families travelling with their belongings in trucks.

Since the start of the year, 447,400 Afghans have returned from Pakistan, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Last August, a collision between a bus carrying Afghan migrants returning from Iran and two other vehicles in western Afghanistan killed 78 people, including 19 children.