Salang Tunnel fire

The Salang Tunnel fire occurred on 3 November 1982 in Afghanistan's Salang Tunnel during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Details are uncertain and officially the number of casualties was recorded as between 168-176 Soviet and Afghan soldiers and civilians. Despite this contemporary Western media claimed the incident may have been the deadliest known road accident, and one of the deadliest fires of modern times, with the death toll estimated at 2,700 to 3,000 people.[1]

A distance view of the Salang Tunnel in March 2010

Background

The Salang Tunnel, which opened the famous Salang Pass (or Kotal-e Salang) to motor traffic, was built by Soviet engineers in 1964 and eased traffic across the Hindu Kush mountain range that separates northern and southern Afghanistan.

Prior to this, on 23 February 1980, a similar incident killed 16 Soviet soldiers in the Salang Tunnel.[2]

Fire

Very few facts are known about the fire. All information available constitutes little more than hearsay, in part because the Soviet Army was not inclined to reveal massive losses during wartime. Neither the Soviet nor Afghan governments confirmed any incident occurred.[3] Most sources agree that it involved a Soviet Army convoy traveling southward through the tunnel.

According to Soviet Army records, on 3 November 1982, two military convoys (2211 and 2212) collided in the Salang tunnel causing a traffic jam. There were no fires or explosions.[4]

Another report from a traveler, who has been to the region, sounds very different from this official version: A fuel tanker in a military convoy exploded inside (the cause of the explosion remains somewhat in doubt with the Soviet Union still claiming it was an accident and the Mujahideen still claiming it was a successful terrorist attack) the Salang Tunnel, unleashing an explosive chain reaction. Drivers of cars, trucks, and buses evidently continued to enter the tunnel after the explosion. Soviet troops, fearing that the explosion might have been a rebel attack, closed off both ends with tanks, trapping many inside.

Victims

Initial reports described fuel and ordnance explosions, and estimates of the death toll were as high as 2,700.[5] Shortly after the event, Western diplomats indicated that a collision with a fuel truck initiated the fire in the tunnel that led to the catastrophe resulting in the death of as many as 700 Soviet soldiers and 400 to 2,000 Afghan civilians.[6] People died either from fire or of asphyxiation.[6] The death toll was subsequently revised downwards many times.

56 to 64 Soviet soldiers and 112 Afghan people were killed by carbon monoxide emitted by idling engines.[note 1][7] US military analysts placed the casualty figure at 100 to 200 Soviet and Afghan soldiers.[6] Some burned to death; others were killed by smoke and by carbon monoxide escaping from vehicles whose drivers kept their engines idling to stay warm in the freezing cold. As many as 700 Soviet troops and 2,000 Afghan soldiers and civilians may have died.[8]

Aftermath

Afghan insurgents said they did not have any role in the explosion in the tunnel.[6]

See also

Notes
  1. The names of soldiers who died in the incident can be found in «The Book of remembrance of soviet soldiers fallen in Afghanistan» (Russian: Книга памяти о советских войнах, погибших в Афганистане) which can be found here.
  1. "Truck explosion kills 3,000 in Afghanistan". History Channel. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. In Russian Archived 2007-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Claiborne, William (14 November 1982). "Kabul Silent on Tunnel Disaster". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. Dahiya, Nishant (December 7, 2010). "High Up in Afghanistan, A 'Ghostly' Ride Through the Salang Tunnel". NPR. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  5. AFGHANISTAN: Tunnel Tragedy - TIME
  6. Associated Press (November 10, 1982). "Afghan Blast Toll is Put in Hundreds". New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  7. ""АФГАНСКИЕ ГРАБЛИ" - Родная афганская пыль - Прочее | PyramidWeb.ru". www.pyramidweb.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  8. Salang Pass, Salang Tunnel and The Last Battle | The Velvet Rocket

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