Salang tunnel: 19 killed, dozens injured in fire

At slightest 19 radical person been killed and dozens injured successful a occurrence wrong a roadworthy passageway successful Afghanistan, section officials say.

An lipid tanker overturned and caught occurrence successful the Salang Tunnel - which links the superior Kabul to the bluish provinces - connected Saturday evening.

The blaze dispersed to different vehicles earlier it was enactment retired the adjacent morning.

Pictures posted connected societal media showed respective vehicles wholly charred aft the incident.

"The substance tanker exploded... I fell down. My apparel caught fire," 1 witness, who was wounded successful the tunnel, told Tolo news.

Some of the bodies were severely burned, a elder wellness authoritative successful Parwan said successful quotes cited by AFP quality agency.

"Among the dormant it was precise hard to place who was a antheral and who was a female," Abdullah Afghan Mal said, a elder wellness authoritative successful Parwan said, according to AFP quality agency.

At slightest 32 radical were wounded, different authoritative said. It's thought the fig of casualties could inactive rise.

The Ministry of Public Works said the walk had been closed to postulation portion rescue operations were carried out.

The Salang Tunnel is 2.6km (1.6 miles) agelong and is located astatine an altitude of astir 3,400m (11,154ft).

Hailed arsenic an engineering masterpiece connected its completion successful the 1960s by the Soviet Union, the large way done the Hindu Kush mountains is often unopen for days due to the fact that of accidents and avalanches.

A occurrence successful the passageway successful 1982 killed astatine slightest 400 people, though immoderate estimates enactment the decease toll successful the thousands.