Salang tunnel, 19 killed, dozens wounded by fire in Afghanistan

At least 19 people have been killed and dozens more have been wounded by a fire within a road tunnel in Afghanistan, local officials said.

An oil tank was turned upside down and set fire in the Salang tunnel that connects the capital of Kabul with northern provinces on Saturday evening.

The fire spread into other vehicles before the next morning.

Photos posted on social networks showed several vehicles completely burned after the incident.

“Some of the troops were severely burned”, a senior health official in Parwan said.

“Midis the dead were very difficult to identify as the male and who the female was,” said Abdullah Mal, a senior health official in Parwan said.

At least 32 people were injured, another official said. It is believed that the number of victims could still increase, the BBC writes.