Relatives demand justice for Herat tragedy

KABUL (TOLOnews): At the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Specialized Hospital in Kabul, heartbreaking stories are emerging in connection with the deadly incident in Herat.

Families of the victims are waiting here to receive the bodies of their loved ones, body parts, or any recognizable remains after identification.

They are calling for a serious investigation and accountability for this bloody incident.

Yamin Rastin, a relative of the victims, said: “I have lost five members of my family. We demand this incident be pursued because it is said that the bus was overloaded with passengers.”

All victims of the Herat tragedy, including women and children, were migrants returning from Iran.

Some families say that although several bodies of their relatives have been identified, a number of their loved ones remain missing.

Farhad, another relative of the victims, said: “The list includes the names of three of our deceased, but five others are still missing — two children, two women, and one man. They are among those burned. We hope that our loved ones’ bodies will be handed over to us.”

Hospital officials said all the victims were transported to Kabul by air. According to them, most of the bodies are unidentifiable and are planned to be buried collectively.

Brigadier General Tahir Ahrar, the Health Commander of the Ministry of Interior, said: “Unfortunately, there are martyrs and bodies whose faces are impossible to identify, as everything is burned. Therefore, in accordance with the guidance of scholars and Islamic principles, they will be buried together in one cemetery.”

This comes two days after a deadly traffic accident in Herat claimed the lives of nearly 80 people, including women and children.