12 killed, 37 injured in Afghanistan tunnel fire

KABUL: At least 12 people lost their lives and 30 suffered injuries after an oil tanker caught fire inside a tunnel on a strategic highway connecting northern Afghanistan with the south.

افغانستان
صوبہ پروان میں واقع سالنگ ہائی وے پر ٹنل میں آتشزدگی، متعدد گاڑیاں زد میں آگئیں
کم از کم 12افراد ہلاک، 37زخمی pic.twitter.com/KEVBWI35Nx

— MM News (@mmnewsdottv) December 18, 2022

According to public works ministry spokesperson Hamidullah Misbah, the incident took place inside the Salang tunnel in the eastern Parwan province on Saturday night. He said “unfortunately, 12people died, and another 37 were injured,” adding that the casualty figure was still preliminary and feared “the number of victims may increase.”

وقوع آتش‌سوزی در یک موتر حامل مواد نفتی در تونل سالنگ کشته و زخمی برجا گذاشته است.
در گزارش ببینید pic.twitter.com/2bZw4fE7fY

— قاری یونس ترابی (@torabi9064614) December 18, 2022

The Salang Tunnel, built in 1965 by the Soviets, is almost 2.7 km long through the Hindu Kush mountains between the Parwan and Baghlan provinces. It is about 100 km from Kabul.

The strategic pass is the only all-weather road link between northern Afghanistan, the capital, and the southern parts.

نوار تصویری از آتش‌سوزی شب گذشته در تونل سالنگ
مسوولان محلی میگویند که در حدود ۱۲ تن در این آتش‌سوزی جان باخته و بیش از ۲۰ تن دیگر زخم برداشته‌اند. pic.twitter.com/PLw06l0oMC

— پیام آزادی (@Payam__Azadi) December 18, 2022

The tunnel has witnessed several accidents due to the accumulation of gases or snow avalanches.

The Salang tunnel was dynamited in 1997 by the Northern Alliance to cut Afghanistan in two and hinder the advance of the Taliban militia.

The destruction of the ventilation systems and the planting of mines and explosives inside the tunnel turned it into a graveyard for its travelers.

The governments before the return of the Taliban spent millions of dollars on the renovation of the tunnel.

In 2010, more than 160 people were buried and another 100 were injured after a series of snow avalanches blocked the tunnel and damaged dozens of vehicles.