Onlookers stand at the site of a bus crash in the Guzara district of Herat province in Afghanistan on August 20, 2025. MOHSEN KARIMI / AFP via Getty Images

Seventy-eight people were killed in a collision in western Afghanistan Tuesday evening between a bus carrying Afghan migrants, a truck and a motorcycle, local officials said.

Mutfi Muhammad Yousuf Saeedi, spokesman for the Herat provincial governor, said the dead included women and 17 children. One person hospitalized from the crash was in critical condition.

The truck was carrying petroleum that instantly sparked a fire, officials said. It happened on a busy highway.

The Taliban announced Wednesday that they arrested the head of the transportation company involved in the bus accident. The company's operations have been halted until the government's investigation is complete.

Mufti Saeedi confirmed to CBS News that the bus was carrying refugees who had recently been deported from neighboring Iran.

They were part of a large-scale operation to remove Afghans from Iran initiated after the Israel-Iran 12-day war in June. Thousands of Afghans were forced to leave, often under dire circumstances, as tension heightened in the region. Many faced significant hardships during their transfer as they grappled with the challenges of displacement and their uncertain future.

Videos and photos shared on social media showed the bus in flames. "Firefighters arrived at the scene of the accident quickly, but unfortunately, they were unable to rescue anyone," Ahmadullah Mutaqi, director of information and culture in Herat, told CBS News.

The state-run Bakhtar News Agency said Tuesday's accident was one of Afghanistan's deadliest in recent years.

Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving on highways and a lack of regulation. Buses and trucks are often overloaded, which increases the risk of accidents.

In December, two bus accidents involving a fuel tanker and a truck on a highway through central Afghanistan killed at least 52.

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