Fatal Traffic Crash Claims Four Lives, As Highway Collision Leaves Wreckage Near Kandahar City

Kandahar, Afghanistan— Four people were killed at 8:20 a.m. on October 28, 2026, when two vehicles collided head-on on the Kandahar-Herat highway, shutting down traffic for three hours.

Police said a Toyota Corolla carrying three passengers tried to overtake a truck near Daman district, 15 km east of Kandahar city. It hit an oncoming minibus. The Corolla caught fire. All four inside died at the scene. The minibus driver survived with injuries.

Traffic police in Kandahar said the road was dry but crowded with early morning trucks heading to the border. The stretch has no center divider. Overtaking is common. "The driver was at high speed and lost control during overtake," said a traffic officer at the site who did not want his name used because the report is not final. He said the bodies were badly burned.

Residents said they heard a loud blast and ran to pull people out. One man said the doors were locked by the impact. "We broke windows but fire was too fast," said Haji Mohammad, a shopkeeper near the crash. He said ambulances took 40 minutes to arrive because of traffic jam behind the wreck.

Kandahar Public Health Directorate said two injured from the minibus were taken to Mirwais Regional Hospital. One has a broken pelvis. Doctors said he is stable. The other has minor cuts. No children were among the dead, officials confirmed.

Provincial officials blamed reckless driving and poor road maintenance. The Kandahar-Herat highway carries hundreds of fuel tankers daily and has deep potholes. Last month, five people died on the same road in a similar overtake crash. Police said they have asked the Ministry of Public Works for speed signs.

Relatives gathered at the hospital morgue by noon. Names of the dead were withheld pending family notification. One victim was a university student returning to Kandahar, his uncle told police. The other three were traders.

The highway was reopened at 11:30 a.m. after a crane removed the burned vehicles. Police said they will review dashcam footage from the minibus. They have not filed charges yet. The wrecked Corolla remains in police custody for inspection.

The case is now with the traffic investigation department. Officials said they will check if the Corolla had brake failure. For now, the road is open and traffic is moving slowly through the crash point.