Bus hits vehicles in southern Afghanistan, killing 15

Bus hits vehicles in southern Afghanistan, killing 15

2011-11-13 09:02:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- At least 15 people were killed on Saturday when a passenger bus struck a number of vehicles on a highway in the province of Helmand in southern Afghanistan, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency reported.

The accident happened in the Yakhchal area of Greshk district when a passenger bus lost control and hit a motorcycle and two cars on the Kandahar-Herat highway. District police chief Maj. Shadi Khan said passengers traveling on the bus were not injured.

The police official added that the motorbike driver and all the occupants of the two cars died at the scene of the accident. The bodies of the victims were taken to a nearby health facility as police were attempting to inform their relatives.

The accident is believed to have been caused by reckless driving, according to the news report, which added that the bus driver had fled the scene. Police have launched a search to arrest him.

In late August, a total of 34 people were killed when a bus rolled over in the Daman district of Kandahar province. Two dozen others were injured in what officials described as one of the country's worst traffic accidents in recent years.

According to the most recent figures released by the General Directorate of Road Care, road accidents on highways in Afghanistan killed more than 1,800 people in 2007. Many accidents in the country are blamed on the poor maintenance of roads and vehicles as well as dangerous driving.

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