 Exterior shot of Salang Tunnel taken in 2010 | |
  Explosion | |
| Date | 18 December 2022 |
|---|---|
| Time | 20:30 AFT (UTC+04:30) |
| Location | Salang Tunnel, Afghanistan |
| Coordinates | 35°18′36″N69°02′33″E / 35.3100°N 69.0425°E Coordinates: 35°18′36″N69°02′33″E / 35.3100°N 69.0425°E |
| Type | Fuel tanker explosion |
| Deaths | 31 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 37 |
On 18 December 2022, a tanker truck exploded in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing at least 31 people.
The Salang Tunnel was built in the 1960s and its 2.67 km (1.66 mi) length connects the Parwan and Baghlan provinces. [1] It is known to be one of the most dangerous tunnels in the world. [2] Due to the lack of ventilation and illumination, dust and fumes reduce visibility to only a few meters. A fire in 1982 killed at least 168 Soviet soldiers and Afghans (according to the Soviet estimate), and carbon monoxide buildup killed 16 Soviet servicemen in 1980. [3]
On 18 December 2022, a fuel tanker exploded and caught fire in the Salang Tunnel. [4] [5] [6] [7] The explosion occurred at around 8:30 pm and the cause of the blast is not yet known. [8] The resulting fire made it difficult to evacuate victims with flames spreading from the tanker to other cars in the tunnel. [9] According to Said Himatullah Shamim, a spokesman for the Parwan Province, survivors of the blast were still buried under the debris, and the number of casualties was expected to climb. [10]
Molvi Hamidullah Misbah, a spokesman for the ministry of public works, stated earlier on Sunday that the fire had been put out and that rescue workers were still attempting to clear the tunnel. [10]
At least 31 people were killed [11] and over 30 others injured by the explosion, with numbers expected to rise. [1] According to Dr. Abdullah Afghan, a local representative of the Parwan health department, the victims included two children and ten females. Some of the casualties were so badly burned that it was impossible to identify them. [10]
A deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, Qari Yusuf Ahamdi, said "The Islamic Emirate expresses its deepest condolences to the families and the victims". [12]
The 1982 Salang Tunnel fire occurred on 3 November 1982 in Afghanistan's Salang Tunnel during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Details are uncertain and officially the number of casualties was recorded as between 168–176 [Soviet Army|Soviet] and Afghan soldiers and civilians. Despite this, contemporary Western media said the incident may have been the deadliest known road accident, and one of the deadliest fires of modern times, with the death toll estimated at 2,700 to 3,000 people.
The Salang Tunnel is a 2.67-kilometre-long (1.66 mi) tunnel in Afghanistan, located at the Salang Pass in the Hindu Kush mountains, between the Parwan and Baghlan provinces, about 90 kilometers north of the capital city of Kabul. Nearly 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above sea level, it was completed by the Soviet Union in 1964 and connects northern Afghanistan with the capital, Kabul, and southern parts of the country. The Salang Tunnel is of strategic importance and is the only pass going in a north–south direction to remain in use throughout the year, although it is often closed during the cold winters by heavy snowfall.
The Salang Pass is the primary mountain pass connecting northern Afghanistan with Parwan Province, with onward connections to Kabul Province, southern Afghanistan, and to the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Located on the border of Parwan Province and Baghlan Province, it is just to the East of the Kushan Pass, and both of them were of great importance in early times as they provided the most direct connections between the Kabul region with northern Afghanistan or Tokharistan. The Salang River originates nearby and flows south.
The 2010 Salang avalanches consisted of a series of at least 36 avalanches that struck the southern approach to the Salang Tunnel, north of Kabul. They were caused by a freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains.
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