The Salang Tunnel (Persian: تونل سالنگ Tūnel-e Sālang), located in Parwan province, is a link between northern and southern Afghanistan crossing the Hindukush mountain range under the difficult Salang Pass.
The Salang Tunnel is the only pass going in a north-south direction to remain in use throughout the year.[1]
It is known for a deadly fire which occurred in November 1982, and several avalanche incidents. A series of avalanches led to the deaths of as many as 172 people in February 2010 either as a direct result of the avalanche or through being trapped.
Contents |
The tunnel represents the major north-south connection in Afghanistan, cutting travel from 72 hours to 10 hours and saving about 300 kilometres (190 mi). It reaches an altitude of about 3,400 metres (11,200 ft) and is 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) long. The width and height of the tunnel tube are 7 metres (23 ft).
In 1955, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to initiate joint development of the Salang road, initially via the historic Salang Pass route. The tunnel was opened in 1964 and provided a year-round connection from the North and the Soviet Union to Kabul. The tunnel was the highest road tunnel in the world until 1973, when the United States built the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel — just slightly higher and slightly longer — in the Rocky Mountains. (Another higher tunnel in Tajikistan remains incomplete.)
In 2010, it was noted that about 16,000 vehicles pass the tunnel daily.[2]
During the Soviet-Afghan war, the tunnel was a crucial military link to the South yet prone to ambushes by the mujaheddin. On November 3, 1982 the Salang tunnel fire killed 64 Soviet soldiers and 112 Afghans; apparently after a collision, a tanker truck blew up in the tunnel and the fire engulfed a military convoy. Other sources offer some variation in the number of fatalities; for example the Guinness Book of World Records 2007 cites a figure of "about 176".
After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, maintenance suffered, and eventually, in the course of combat between the Afghan Northern Alliance and the Taliban in 1997–1998, the tunnel's entrances and ventilation system were destroyed, so that it could only be crossed by foot in the dark. After the over throw of the Taliban led government, a joint effort between agencies from Afghanistan, France, Russia, the United States and others cleared the mines and debris and reopened the tunnel on January 19, 2002.[1]
Several weeks after reopening several hundred people were trapped in the tunnel due to an avalanche at its southern end. While most people were rescued, fatalities occurred due to asphyxiation and freezing. After further rehabilitation, in July 2004, the tunnel could carry two-way traffic.
Avalanches in the approach to the tunnel killed at least ten people in January 2009.[3]
On February 8, 2010, a series of at least seventeen avalanches struck the area around the tunnel, burying miles of road, killing dozens of people and stranding hundreds more.[4][5][6][7] Hundreds of cars were buried in the snow.[5] More than 150 people are expected to have been killed in total, according to officials.[4] At least 400 injuries were reported.[8]
The Afghan National Army and NATO used their helicopters to rescue at least 2,500 people who were trapped inside their vehicles.[5]
The avalanches were caused by a sudden blizzard that struck the area, closing the tunnel and the roads around it on both side of the tunnel.[4]
The tunnel was reopened on February 12, 2010.