At least 78 people, including 17 children, lost their lives late Tuesday night in western Afghanistan when a passenger bus carrying deported Afghan migrants collided with a truck and a motorcycle before catching fire, officials confirmed.
The tragic accident occurred in Guzara district, Herat province, along a highway leading to Kabul. Authorities attributed the crash to excessive speed and negligence on the part of the bus driver. “Everyone aboard the bus was killed, along with two individuals from the other vehicles,” stated Ahmadullah Mottaqi, Taliban’s provincial director of information and culture.
Provincial spokesman Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi added that all victims had boarded the bus in Islam Qala, a town near the Afghanistan–Iran border, following deportation from Iran.
The disaster comes amid a surge of forced returns from Iran. According to the UN Refugee Agency, over 1.5 million Afghans have been expelled since January. Iran has recently intensified deportations, citing security concerns, though critics argue that migrants are being unfairly targeted. Last week, Iran’s Interior Minister announced that an additional 800,000 Afghans would be required to leave by March.
Afghanistan is already struggling to manage the mass return of refugees from both Iran and Pakistan. The Taliban-led country faces dwindling international aid, high unemployment, and pervasive poverty. “The return of so many people is creating an additional strain on already overstretched resources,” said Arshad Malik, country director of Save the Children Afghanistan.
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Traffic accidents remain a frequent hazard in Afghanistan due to war-damaged infrastructure, weak regulations, and reckless driving. Tuesday’s bus crash is among the deadliest in recent years, underscoring the risks faced by migrants returning to an unstable homeland.
Authorities continue to investigate the incident, while humanitarian organizations are calling for urgent support to assist the affected families.