At least five people were killed and seven others injured after a vehicle overturned in Parwan province in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, a local police official confirmed on Sunday, 21 June. The crash occurred in the Mandiqol area of Kohi Safi district, adding to a grim pattern of road fatalities across the country in recent weeks.

How the Accident Happened

According to Fazul Rahim Muskenyar, provincial police spokesman for Parwan, the vehicle veered off the road due to a suspected technical failure before overturning. Five passengers died at the scene, while the remaining seven injured were transported to medical facilities in Kabul for treatment.

A Pattern of Road Deaths Across Afghanistan

The Parwan crash is the latest in a series of deadly road accidents that have claimed dozens of lives across Afghanistan in recent months. On 15 June, four travellers — including a mother, her child, and two other women — were killed when a mini-bus overturned in Wardak province's Saydabad district, with four more sustaining injuries, some in critical condition, according to provincial police spokesman Mohammad Yusuf Israr. A separate incident around the same period left one dead and four injured in Kunar province.

On 30 May, one of the deadliest single road accidents of the year unfolded on a highway in Laghman province, when a truck carrying Afghan migrants who had recently returned from Pakistan overturned near the Surkhkanu intersection in Qarghayi district, along the main Kabul–Jalalabad highway. At least 18 people were killed — including 10 children and five women — and 35 others were injured, according to a statement from the Taliban governor's office in Laghman. The wounded were transferred to medical facilities in Nangarhar. Taliban disaster management officials noted the victims had been temporarily settled in Kunar province and were being transported to Kabul at the time.

Earlier, on 3 May, a high-speed collision between a passenger vehicle and a truck on the outskirts of Andkhoy district in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan claimed three lives. Provincial police confirmed an investigation was initiated, though no further details were disclosed.

Road Safety Crisis in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's roads remain among the most dangerous in the region, with accidents frequently attributed to vehicle overloading, poor road conditions, mechanical failures, and reckless driving. The country's already-strained emergency infrastructure means that the injured often face long journeys to reach adequate medical care, compounding fatality risks. Notably, the 30 May Laghman tragedy — which involved returning migrants — highlighted the additional vulnerability of displaced populations relying on informal, often overcrowded transport.

What Authorities Have Said

Taliban traffic and disaster management officials have acknowledged the incidents but have not announced any systemic road safety measures in response. In the Laghman case, Habibullah Mubarez, the Taliban's traffic director in Laghman, confirmed the location of the crash. Authorities in Faryab said an investigation into the May collision had been initiated, without providing further details.

With multiple fatal crashes recorded across at least six provinces in under two months, pressure is mounting on Afghan authorities to address the structural causes of road accidents — from vehicle maintenance standards to highway safety infrastructure.