35 killed as fuel tanker hits bus in Afghanistan

At least 35 people were killed and 20 were injured in Afghanistan after a fuel tanker collided with a passenger bus, causing a massive explosion, local officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place on a major highway connecting the southern province of Kandahar with the capital city of Kabul, one of the worst affected by the Taliban insurgency

Several of the victims, who include women and children, were charred beyond recognition in the latest road accident to hit the worn-torn country.

The governor of the province, Bismillah Afghanmal, told AFP: “The passenger bus was on its way from Kandahar to Kabul when it collided with a fuel tanker in Jildak area of Zabul. In the accident, 35 people were killed and more than 20 others wounded.”

Ghulam Jilani Farahi, deputy police chief of Zabul province where the accident occurred, said authorities could identify only six bodies and the rest were totally burnt.

Farahi said several women and children were among the victims in the bus that was carrying more than 60 people.

The driver of the oil tanker and a co-passenger died immediately after the truck burst into flames during the early morning hours on Sunday.   

The Kabul-Kandahar highway passes through areas prone to militancy and many drivers are known to drive at top speeds in hopes of avoiding insurgent activity.

Afghanistan has some of the world's most dangerous roads, often in dilapidated condition, and traffic rules are seldom enforced.

At least 73 people were killed in May when two passenger buses and a fuel tanker collided and burst into flames in eastern Ghazni province, which is labelled as one of the worst accidents in the country. In April 2013, another collision killed 45 people in Kandahar province. Afghanistan has some of the most dangerous roads in the world, often in poor condition and traffic rules are seldom observed.

Last November, the World Bank signed off a $250m grant to repair roads crossing the Hindu Kush mountains.