A bus transporting Afghan migrants who had recently returned from Iran was involved in a fatal accident on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, in western Afghanistan. The crash resulted in the deaths of 79 individuals, including 19 children.
The incident occurred in the Guzara district of Herat province when a passenger bus collided with a motorcycle and a fuel truck.
According to Afghan government official Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the fuel truck ignited after the collision with the bus, which was fully loaded with passengers. Both vehicles caught fire, resulting in most casualties from burn injuries.
The bus was en route from Islam Qala, a border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, to Kabul at the time of the crash. Most of the deceased were bus passengers, but individuals on the truck and motorcycle also perished.
Herat province police attributed the accident to excessive speed and negligence.
Eyewitness Akbar Tawakoli reported: “There was a lot of fire… There was a lot of screaming, but we couldn’t even get within 50 meters (approximately 55 yards) to rescue anyone.”
The victims were part of a larger group of Afghan migrants expelled from Iran. In recent months, over 2.2 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan, with more than 1.8 million from Iran alone.
Iran had initially set a July 6 deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave, later extending it to September 6. As a result, border crossings surged dramatically from mid-June, with some days witnessing approximately 40,000 individuals entering Afghanistan.
Many returning Afghans had lived abroad for decades, having fled during the Soviet invasion in 1979 and after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. They often worked in low-wage jobs in Iranian cities.
The deportations increased after Iran introduced a new program in March, particularly following a conflict with Israel, amid unfounded claims of Afghan involvement in espionage.
According to the United Nations, over 500,000 Afghans were deported from Iran within 16 days following the conflict with Israel, marking a significant instance of forced displacement this decade.
The death toll reached 79 after two survivors, initially rescued from the wreckage, succumbed to their burn injuries at a military hospital in Herat. Mohammad Janan Moqadas, the hospital’s chief physician, reported that many bodies were too severely burned for identification.
Traffic accidents in Afghanistan are frequent due to poor road conditions from prolonged conflict, unsafe driving practices, and inadequate traffic law enforcement. The country’s infrastructure has declined since the Taliban took over in 2021.
This incident highlights the perilous conditions confronting Afghan returnees traveling on deteriorating roads. Many returnees face unemployment and lack housing, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in a nation where nearly half of the 46 million residents depend on humanitarian aid.
In December 2023, two separate bus accidents involving tankers resulted in 52 fatalities. In March 2024, another 20 people died in a collision in Helmand province. In late 2022, a tanker overturned in the Salang Pass, causing a fire that claimed 31 lives.
The Taliban government expressed condolences for the fatalities and initiated an investigation into the crash. Transportation authorities have been tasked with gathering details about the incident and identifying those responsible.
Afghanistan faces challenges in providing basic services due to international funding cuts, making it difficult to support the large number of returnees. The country is experiencing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, aggravated by decades of conflict and economic decline since the Taliban’s takeover.