More than 19 people were killed and over 3- more were injured in the fire at a tunnel in the Salang Pass, the local officials said.
Hamidullah Misbah, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works, said the fire has been extinguished.
He said the incident happened at around 6:30pm when a fuel truck overturned and caught fire.
Misbah added that the fire was extinguished at around 8:00am on Sunday while teams were sent to the area from Baghlan and Parwan provinces.
He said the number casualties may rise.
According to him, the Salang pass will remain closed to traffic until the next announcement of the Public Works Ministry.
The Ministry of Defense said on Twitter that it has sent helicopters and rescue teams to Salang Pass.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the Islamic Emirate offer its condolences to the victims.
Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate calls on all relevant organizations to boost efforts to prevent such incidents in the future.
“When we went inside the tunnel in the morning, we saw bodies that were not recognizable as they were severely burnt. Women, men and children were among them,” said Ajab Gul, an eyewitness.
“The Ministry of Defense, the Interior Minister and Health Minister and all government organizations are working together. We couldn’t count the cars. Around one hour ago, two cars exploded,” Hafiz Noorullah Ansari, head of the fire department.—Tolonews
