An explosion occurred in a fuel tanker entering the Salang Tunnel in the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan’s Parwan province. In the incident that took place around 21:00 local time, a fire broke out due to the intensity of the explosion. Spokesperson of Parwan Governorate, Hikmetullah Shamim, stated that the loss of life could increase even more and announced that 19 people lost their lives and 32 people were injured.
Afghanistan Health Minister Qalandar Ibad announced that the injured were transferred to hospitals in the capital Kabul, Baghlan and Parwan, and that the people trapped in the tunnel were rescued.
“WE CAN CLOSE UP TO 100 METERS TO THE EVENT SITE”
On the other hand, Commander Mawlawi Abdulghafoor, who came to help those trapped in the tunnel with about 50 soldiers, said, “As you can see, a tragic event took place in Salang. The fuel-carrying vehicle burned down and other vehicles around it were also damaged. Many people were injured. The tunnel roof also collapsed. We were able to get within 100 meters of the scene and removed 18 injured. With the help of other units in the region, we sent the injured to hospitals. “We are now 200 meters from the scene and we will continue to help,” he said. (UAV)