Overview
- The crash, which occurred Saturday near the Surkhakan intersection in Qarghayi district, Laghman province, overturned a heavily loaded truck and killed at least 22 people, including about ten children.
- Provincial officials gave a preliminary cause that the driver fell asleep at the wheel and the overloaded vehicle veered off the road into a ditch.
- Rescue teams moved roughly 36 wounded passengers to hospitals in neighbouring Nangarhar, where several are in critical care, and the National Disaster Management Authority announced emergency cash aid for affected families.
- The passengers were returnees from Pakistan, part of more than 447,400 returns recorded by UN agencies since the start of 2026, and many travel in crowded commercial trucks because they lack safe, affordable transport.
- The accident underscores chronic road and vehicle-safety shortfalls in Afghanistan and adds strain to local health and relief services, raising the prospect of greater humanitarian needs and renewed calls for safer transport and support for returnees.