Tragedy Strikes 15 Afghan Families Returning from Iran in Fatal Bus Fire

Kokcha News Agency– On the evening of August 19, 2025, a bus carrying Afghan families returning from Iran collided with a truck on the Herat-Kabul highway, resulting in a deadly fire that killed 79 people, including 17 children. The victims were part of 15 families who had been deported or forced to leave Iran due to expired visas.

One of the families, the Nabi-Zadeh family, consisted of ten members, including four children, grandparents, and their two daughters. They had moved to Tehran in 2022 in search of a better life but were forced to return to Afghanistan after their visas expired. Farmehr Rahimi, a relative of the family, told the BBC that they had tried to transfer to another bus at the last minute to stay together, but the move proved fatal.

The bodies of the victims were so badly burned that they were unidentifiable, and families had to rely on seat numbers to confirm their loved ones’ identities.

Mohammad Ali Mirzaei, a construction worker from Daykundi, lost his wife and three children in the accident. His family had joined him in Iran just a year earlier, but he was deported in July 2025, leaving his wife and children to return to Afghanistan alone.

Another victim, Dor Mohammad Mohammadi, a 51-year-old security guard from Parwan, had been working in Tehran for four years. He, his wife, and their 23-year-old daughter were all killed in the fire.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Interior confirmed the death toll, which included the bus and truck drivers and two motorcyclists. The victims were mostly Afghan migrants who had been deported from Iran.

Iran has been aggressively deporting Afghan migrants, with plans to expel up to two million undocumented Afghans. The Taliban have urged Iran to carry out deportations with dignity and respect.

Fatal accidents on Afghanistan’s highways are not uncommon, but this tragedy has highlighted the dangers of reckless driving, poor road conditions, and lack of safety measures.