Truck Overturns in Afghanistan’s Laghman Province, Killing at Least 22 People Including 10 Children

A truck carrying Afghan families overturned early Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 22 people including 10 children and five women. m. local time near the Surkhakan intersection in Qarghayi district of Laghman province.

The truck fell into a ditch after the driver fell asleep. The vehicle was traveling on the main highway linking Kabul with Nangarhar province. The families had been staying temporarily in eastern Kunar province and were en route to the capital when the accident occurred.

Abdul Malik Niazai, spokesperson for the Laghman provincial governor, said the dead included 10 children and five women. Aminullah Sharif, the provincial director of public health, confirmed 22 people were killed and about 36 injured. Emergency services transferred the wounded to medical facilities in neighboring Nangarhar province.

Several injured passengers remain in intensive care there. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the crash took place in Qarghayi district on Saturday. In a post on X, he stated “we pray for the speedy recovery of the injured” and added that he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy which took place at the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The central government expressed formal condolences to the families of the victims. The National Disaster Management Authority announced 730,000 afghanis ($10,000) in emergency financial assistance for the affected families. In a separate accident in Nuristan province on Friday night, a car fell off the road into a river, injuring the driver and leaving four passengers missing.

Rescue crews were searching for the four, the governor’s office said. More than 447,000 Afghans have crossed back from Pakistan this year alone, according to United Nations figures. Pakistan launched a crackdown on migrants in 2023 and has deported or pressured many Afghan migrants to leave since then.

Iran also intensified expulsions of Afghan migrants around the same time. Since 2023, millions of Afghans have returned home from Pakistan and Iran, including many who were born in Pakistan and had spent decades living and working there. At least 20 people have been killed in three separate traffic accidents reported across Afghanistan over the past 10 days, according to local Taliban authorities and media reports.

Traffic accidents are common across Afghanistan, where highways are severely degraded after decades of conflict, vehicles are poorly maintained, and traffic regulations are seldom enforced.