Fuel tanker blows up at Iran-Afghan border
Herat
A fuel tanker exploded Saturday at the Islam Qala crossing in Afghanistan’s western Herat province on the Iranian border, injuring at least seven people and causing a massive fire that consumed more than 500 trucks carrying natural gas and fuel, according to Afghan officials and Iranian state media.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blast. Wahid Qatali, Herat’s provincial governor, said Afghan first responders did not have the means to put out the fire and had requested support from Iran in the form of fire fighting aircraft.
“For the time being, we can’t even talk about the casualties,” Qatali told The Associated
La explosión de un petrolero en la frontera entre Afganistán e Irán provoca un incendio masivo elmanana.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from elmanana.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A massive fire has engulfed a customs post in Afghanistan after fuel trucks caught alight, injuring many people and prompting authorities across the nearby Iranian border to send fire engines and ambulances, officials said.
Several local people battled to control Saturday’s blaze in the border town of Islam Qala, which initial reports said had started after a gas tanker exploded. Officials later said the cause was not immediately clear.
Waheed Qatali, governor of the western province of Herat, said Iranian authorities and NATO-led personnel in Afghanistan had been asked for urgent assistance to contain the fire, which damaged electricity infrastructure, leaving much of Herat’s eponymous capital city without power.