International: Afghanistan fuel tanker crash kills 73 in Ghazni province

by   BBC News

Two buses and a fuel tanker have collided on a major highway in Afghanistan killing 73 people, a health ministry spokesman has told the BBC.

More than 50 other people injured in the accident had been taken to hospital in Ghazni province, officials say.

All three vehicles were set ablaze after the collision on the main road linking the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar.

Accidents are common in Afghanistan where roads are often in a poor state.

The BBC’s Mahfouz Zubaide in the capital, Kabul, says drivers also tend to speed and traffic rules are rarely enforced.

Mohammadullah Ahmadi, the director of the provincial traffic department, said the crash was caused by reckless driving, the Associated Press news agency reports.

He said local residents helped fire fighters and first responders pull survivors from the wreckage.

Most of those who died in the crash were “completely burned”, health ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi told the AFP news agency.

Jawed Salangi, spokesman for the governor of eastern Ghazni province, told the BBC he had seen documents showing that altogether there were 125 passengers travelling on the buses.

According to the Efe news agency, the collision happened at about 06:30 local time (02:00 GMT).