The authorities mentioned 37 folks had been injured after a gas tanker caught hearth, and the demise toll was anticipated to rise.
At least 12 folks had been killed in an accident within the Salang Tunnel, which connects Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to its north, the authorities have mentioned.
Thirty-seven folks had been injured on Saturday after a gas tanker caught hearth, mentioned Molvi Hamiddullah Misbah, a spokesperson for the Public Works Ministry.
While the hearth had been extinguished, Misbah mentioned on Sunday that the demise toll was prone to rise. The reason for the accident remained unclear.
“When we went inside the tunnel in the morning, we saw bodies that were not recognisable, as they were severely burnt. Women, men and children were among them,” Ajab Gul, an eyewitness, informed the Afghan Tolo information company.
The landmark tunnel is positioned about 90km (56 miles) north of Kabul and is a key hyperlink between the nation’s north and south.
Military helicopters together with medics and first support groups had been despatched to the scene, the Defence Ministry posted on social media.
Abdullah Afghan Mal, a senior well being official in Parwan province, mentioned lots of the lifeless included ladies and youngsters whose our bodies had been badly burnt. “Among the dead it was very hard to identify who was a male and who was a female,” he informed the AFP information company.
The 2.6-km (1.6-mile) lengthy Soviet-built tunnel is an engineering feat that hyperlinks Kabul and Afghanistan’s north, connecting the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia by the treacherous Salang go, one of many highest mountain highways on this planet at about 3,650 metres (12,000 ft).
The go is usually shut for days due to accidents, heavy snowfall and avalanches throughout the winter months.
In 2010, avalanches killed greater than 150 folks within the Salang go.
