17 injured as mini-bus overturns in Afghanistan

Bamyan (Afghanistan): A total of 17 commuters were injured, some critically, as a mini-bus overturned in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, the provincial police office said on Thursday.

The provincial police said that the accident in Yakawland district took place due to the carelessness of the driver, and all the injured had been taken to hospital.

At least five commuters were killed and three others injured in a traffic accident in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Wednesday, said a spokesman for the provincial police department.

The accident took place after two passenger vehicles and a rickshaw collided with a fuel tanker on the outskirts of the province's Surkh Rod district, said Basir Zabuli, spokesperson for the provincial police.

The injured have been shifted to the provincial hospital of Nangarhar for treatment, while all the deceased in the accident were members of the same family.

Ramshackle and congested roads, lack of security measures on highways, absence of traffic signals, the use of old-fashioned vehicles, and overlooking traffic rules are the main reasons for road accidents in Afghanistan.

At least 2,001 people, according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, have been killed and about 6,000 others sustained injuries in more than 4,200 road accidents in Afghanistan over the past 12 months.