CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, Dec 19 (NNN-ANA) – The death toll from an oil tanker blast in a tunnel, in Afghanistan’s eastern Parwan province, reached 19, Deputy to the Provincial Health Directorate, Abdullah Afghanmal, said yesterday.
Afghanmal told media that, 19 dead bodies and 32 injured people from the blast had been taken to hospitals, in the provincial capital, Charikar, and nearby health centres.
Earlier, Spokesman for the Public Work Ministry, Mawlawi Hamidullah Misbah, counted 12 dead and 37 injured from the blast.
Spokesman for Parwan provincial administration, Hekmatullah Shamim, said that the oil tanker caught fire inside Salang Tunnel, Saturday night, killing and injuring over two dozen people.
The official also noted that, the fire had been extinguished and the tunnel had also been reopened for traffic. However, locals at the site believed that the number of casualties could be higher than reported.
Salang Tunnel, 3,400 metres above sea level, connecting Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, to the northern eight provinces, is an essential passway and lifeline in Afghanistan.– NNN-ANA
