A bus carrying Afghans recently deported from Iran crashed and burst into flames Tuesday, killing dozens of men, women and children.
At least 76 people were killed after a collision on a highway in the city of Herat, governor spokesperson Mufti Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told CNN.
The bus, which had departed from Islam Qala, a town near Afghanistan-Iran border, was heading toward capital Kabul, when it crashed, Saeedi said.
Video from the site shows the bus engulfed in flames with thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Photos show the vehicle charred as people gather around it.
The burned bodies of the passengers were transferred to a provincial hospital, according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, Director of the Information and Culture Department in Herat Province.
At least 17 children were killed in the crash, Muttaqi said.
The devastating crash comes as Iran has intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants. Tehran had previously declared its intention to remove the millions of undocumented Afghans who carry out lower-paid labor across Iran, often in tough conditions.
The deportations – part of a program Iran announced in March – radically increased in the days after Iran’s conflict with Israel, fueled by unsubstantiated claims that Afghans had spied for Israel prior to and during the attacks.
More than half a million Afghans were expelled from Iran in the 16 days after its conflict with Israel ended in June, according to the United Nations, in what may be one of the largest forced movements of population this decade.
Many Afghans have lived for years in Iran, often in semi-permanent conditions despite lacking documentation.
The abrupt rise in deportations and claims of Afghans spying attracted international condemnation.
