GHAZNI (Afghanistan), Sept 14: A passenger bus collided with a fuel tanker in Afghanistan on Friday, killing 51 people and injuring several others, with women and children among the victims, officials said.

The incident happened in Ab Band district of Ghazni province, on the highway from Kabul to Kandahar, the capital of the south and Afghanistan's second largest city, on what is one of the most dangerous roads in the country.

It was not immediately clear to whom the fuel tanker belonged.

Ghazni is part of the main supply route for Nato goods coming into Afghanistan from the north and heading south.

“At around 6:30 am (0200 GMT) a passenger bus collided with a fuel tanker in the Spin Band area of Ab Band,” Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of the province, said.

As a result, the fuel tanker and the passenger bus caught fire and 51 people were killed and six others were wounded in the collision. There are women and children among the victims, he said.

Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi also said that 51 people had died, with five others wounded.—AFP