7 killed, 9 injured in traffic accident in NE. Afghanistan

A vehicle accident killed seven people, injured nine others, at least five seriously, in the northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

A passenger van overturned when it was on its way from Shaghnan district to Baharak district in the province on Wednesday morning, Outlook reported.

Seven of the 16 occupants in the vehicle were killed on the spot, while the remaining suffered injuries, it said.

Colonel Abdul Halim, a traffic police officer in the provincial capital Faizabad, said the victims included men, women and children.

A local health official Momin Jalali said as he knew, hospitals had received six persons wounded in the accident and five of them were in critical condition.

Due to poor roads and reckless driving manners, Afghanistan has suffered from lots of traffic accidents every year.

Source: Xinhua