VIDEO: Fuel Tanker Explodes on Afghanistan Iran Border (at the Islam Qala): Dozens of gasoline trucks burn on the border of Afghanistan and Iran
VIDEO: Fuel Tanker Explodes on Afghanistan Iran Border
MilitaryEzyInfo.com – Several dozen fuel trucks burst into flames on Saturday, February 13, at a customs post located on the Afghan-Iranian border near Herat.
According to media reports, authorities are still having difficulty estimating the possible number of casualties in the large-scale incident. The provincial governor has admitted that the fire extinguishing means at his disposal are obviously insufficient for an emergency of this scale, and has turned to Iran for help.
In addition, it is known that the fire damaged a power transmission line which imported electricity from a neighboring country. After that, there were problems with electricity in Herat.
Several tankers of oil and liquefied gas caught fire at the customs office in the border town of Islam Qala, which connects Afghanistan with Iran, and shots were heard, a provincial government spokesman, Jilani Farhad, said on February 13, Xinhua news agency reported.
Ahmad Tariq Saleh said his company had lost 21 tankers in the fire.
Electricity supplies from neighboring Iran were cut as a precaution, leaving Herat city without power at night, said Jaylani Farhad, a spokeswoman for Herat’s governor. Herat city, the provincial capital, is about 75 miles east of the border crossing, a major commercial transportation route between Afghanistan and Iran.
“All troops and fire departments are trying to control the fire,” Farhad said.
Iran has sent firefighters to assist the fire station in Herat, Iranian media reported late Saturday.
David Zucchino in Kabul and Asad Timori in Herat.