CHARIKAR: 12 people were killed when an oil tanker overturned and caught fire in the Salang Pass in Afghanistan, according to officials on Sunday.
Hamidullah Misbah, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works, stated that the incident resulted in at least 12 deaths and 37 injuries, and that the death toll was anticipated to rise.
Misbah stated, “In the Salang tunnel, an oil tanker overturned and caught fire, which then set fire to several other vehicles.”
Travelers on both sides of the mountainous pass were left stranded after the incident occurred late on Saturday in the province of Parwan.
According to senior Parwan health official Abdullah Afghan Mal, many of the victims included severely burned children and women. It was very difficult to distinguish between males and females among the deceased,” he stated.
Officials stated that rescue teams in helicopters had arrived at the site and that the pass was now closed to traffic.
In the 1950s, Soviet-era specialists constructed one of the world’s highest mountain highways, the Salang pass, which has a 2.6-kilometer tunnel. It is approximately 3,650 meters high. The Hindu Kush mountain range is traversed by the pass, which links Kabul, the capital, to the north.
