At least 19 people were killed and 32 others injured in the crash, Hekmatullah Samim, a spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, told reporters.
Nineteen people were killed and dozens injured after a tanker overturned and caught fire inside a tunnel in the Salang Pass in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban officials said today.
At least 19 people died and 32 others were injured in the crash, Hekmatullah Samim, a spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, told reporters.
According to a provincial health official, Abdullah Afghan Mal, “many women and children who suffered severe burns” were among the dead.
On Saturday night, “a tanker overturned and caught fire inside the Salang tunnel, and the fire spread to several other vehicles,” said Hamidullah Misbaz, a spokesman for the public works ministry, adding that the death toll could rise.
Traffic at the Salang Pass, located north of Kabul, was closed and rescue crews were flown to the scene.
The Salang Passone of the highest mountain roads on the planet (3,650 meters), was built by Soviet specialists in the 1950s. It includes a 2.6 km long tunnel that crosses the Hindu Kush, connecting Kabul with the northern part of the country.
The numerous traffic accidents, heavy snowfalls and avalanches in winter force the authorities to regularly close the tunnel for several days.
In 2010, more than 150 people were killed in avalanches at Salang Pass.
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