35 killed in bus crash in northern Afghanistan

Accident appeared to have been caused by the ˝narrow width of the road and the carelessness of the driver˝.

KABUL, March 17, 2010 (AFP) - At least 35 people were killed Wednesday when a bus crashed into a truck and then burst into flames on a treacherous pass in northern Afghanistan, the interior ministry said.

The bus was travelling north from Kabul along the narrow Salang pass when it "had an accident with a truck, as a result of which 35 passengers, including women, men and children, were killed," a ministry statement said.

The Salang pass connecting north and south Afghanistan is a notoriously dangerous stretch of road and the scene of avalanches in February that killed 170 people.

The interior ministry said Wednesday's accident appeared to have been caused by the "narrow width of the road and the carelessness of the driver".

"In the first moments after the incident police and first aid health workers arrived on the site and transferred a number of people to the provincial hospital," it said.

It did not give details of the number injured.

The bus was a Mercedes Benz 303, it said, which can accommodate more than 50 passengers.