'Forty killed' as Afghanistan buses crash

Two tour buses travelling at high speed collided head-on on a southern Afghan highway this evening, killing about 40 people on board, a highway police commander said.

About 15 women and children and 25 men were killed, in the crash on Afghanistan’s main Kabul-Kandahar highway near the border area between Ghazni and Zabul provinces, said Jalali Khan, the Zabul province highway commander.

“There’s no speed limit for these buses, and they wanted to reach their destinations as soon as possible,” Khan said. “They’re careless drivers, and someone made a mistake. Around 40 people died because of these careless drivers.”

Both drivers died in the crash, Khan said.

The crash occurred only an hour before sundown, when Afghans in this Muslim country would be allowed to eat and drink for the first time since before sunrise.

Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan do not eat or drink during the day.