67 killed as refugee bus crashes

A bus crowded with Afghan families returning to their homeland after years in Pakistani refugee camps plunged into the Kabul River, killing 67 people, Afghan and UN officials said today.

The crash happened on Friday near the Afghan town of Sarobi, 15 miles east of the capital, Kabul. Rescue teams were searching for bodies. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Afghan authorities said most of the victims came from six families who had been living in the Pakistani port city of Karachi for several years. The bus driver also died.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have gone home since the rigid Taliban government was ousted last December. The Pakistani government estimates some 2.5 million Afghan refugees remain in the country.