The crash of the bus in Northwest Afghanistan killed at least 79 people returning from Iran, including 19 children, the official said.
Two people were also injured in an accident, said the Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani to the Associated Press agency.
Tolo News, quoting official, said the crashed occurred around 20:30 on Tuesday in the province of Herat. The bus collided with a truck and a motorcycle, which caused a massive fire that killed a lot on the spot, reported the outlet.
Almost 1.8 million Afghans have been forcibly returned from Iran in the last few months. Another 184 459 were sent back from Pakistan and more than 5,000 have been deported from Turkey since the beginning of the year. In addition, almost 10,000 Afghan prisoners were repatriated, mostly from Pakistan.
Taliban criticized neighboring countries in July for mass expulsion of Afghans, because Iran and Pakistan exclude foreigners they believe illegally. The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said about 6 million Afghan refugees remain overseas.
The Advocacy Group called Children urged countries to ensure that returns to Afghanistan were safe and noted that forced yields of children risk further damage.
“This terrible tragedy is a significant reminder of the deadly risk faced by hundreds of thousands of Afghan children on their travels from Iran,” said group official Samira Sayed Rahman.
Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, mainly due to poor road conditions and the negligence of the driver.
(Tagstotranslate) Afghanistan bus tragedy
