12 killed In Afghanistan

12 Victims have  lost their lives after an oil tanker caught fire at Salang pass tunnel in Charikar city on December 18, 2022.

According to the authorities, at least 12 people were killed in an accident in the Salang Tunnel, which connects Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to its north.

According to Molvi Hamiddullah Misbah, a spokesperson for the Public Works Ministry, 37 people were injured on Saturday after a fuel tanker caught fire.

While the fire had been extinguished, Misbah said on Sunday that the death toll was likely to rise. The cause of 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, told the Afghan Tolo news agency.

The landmark tunnel is located about 90km (56 miles) north of Kabul and is a key link between the country’s north and south.

Military helicopters along with medics and first aid teams were sent to the scene, the Defence Ministry posted on social media.

Salang pass is one of the highest mountain highways in the world.

Abdullah Afghan Mal, a senior health official in Parwan province, said many of the dead included women and children whose bodies were badly burnt. “Among the dead it was very hard to identify who was a male and who was a female,”