A packed truck carrying Afghan refugee families turned into a death trap Saturday when the driver allegedly nodded off behind the wheel — sending the vehicle careening off a major highway and into a ditch.

At least 22 people were killed in the May 30 disaster in eastern Afghanistan, including 10 children and five women, officials said. Another 36 people were injured in the crash and rushed to hospitals in Nangarhar.

The victims were reportedly Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan when tragedy struck on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul.

Local officials said the truck was overloaded with displaced families and their belongings when the driver allegedly fell asleep, causing the vehicle to overturn and plunge into a ditch.

The scene was grim. Injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals as authorities worked to identify the dead and assist surviving families.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reacted to the tragedy in a statement on X, writing that officials were “deeply saddened” by the crash.

“We pray for the martyrs to attain paradise eternal and for the wounded to receive swift healing,” he wrote. “For their families, we wish beautiful patience and immense reward.”

Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has announced emergency financial help for the families affected, saying it will provide 730,000 afghanis — roughly $10,000 — in assistance.

The crash comes as millions of Afghans have been forced back into the country from Pakistan and Iran since October 2023, following crackdowns on undocumented migrants.

The United Nations has warned that the wave of returns has pushed Afghanistan to the edge.

“This is massive, and the speed and scale of these returns has pushed Afghanistan nearly to the brink,” Arafat Jamal, the UN Refugee Agency’s Afghanistan representative, previously told NBC News.

For the families on that truck, the long road home ended in unspeakable heartbreak.