Nearly 80 Afghans, including children dead after bus crash via Iran
Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Nearly 80 Afghan nationals, including more than a dozen children, died in a fiery bus crash on its way out of Iran to Afghanistan in Iran's ongoing push to rid millions of foreigners.
The Kabul-bound bus crashed late Tuesday night during a long ride on treacherous Afghani terrain after colliding with another vehicle and a motorbike near the Iranian border in the western Afghan province of Herat.
According to officials, 78 people died that included 17 children.
"The car was carrying fuel and it caught fire after a head-on collision with the bus, fully loaded with passengers," according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, a government communications official in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, told NBC and The New York Times.
Muttaqi added the bus also caught fire and "the majority of people on the bus died of burn injuries."
On Wednesday, the bodies were transferred to Afghanistan's capital Kabul.
Video footage by Afghan news outlet Etilaatroz depicted the large bus engulfed in flames as firefighters battled the blaze and Afghans joined in to aid and its charred remain later hauled away by a larger truck.
"These Afghan refugees were returning home after spending a long time in Iran, but they could not reach their destination as their bus met with a tragic accident," Muttaqi stated.
The Iranian regime has cracked down on undocumented nationals.
It comes as Iran has moved to expel nearly 2 million Afghan nationals from within its border, some who have lived in Iran for decades.
More than 1.2 million since June have forcibly been returned to troubled Afghanistan as Iranian officials have accused Afghans of spying for Israel following its brief military conflict around spring.
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