Sayeret
02-23-2004, 09:41 PM
Usually, the tunnel operates a one way system – in other words, northbound traffic is allowed through the tunnel for 5 minutes, then stopped at the tunnel entrance to allow southbound traffic to take its turn. But in November 1982 traffic was allowed through the tunnel in both directions at the same time. The reasons for this are not clear, but in 1982 Russia was at war with Afghanistan and thousands of soldiers and civilians were travelling between the countries every day. It is probable that the usual safety procedures were suspended to prevent a huge traffic jam at both ends of the tunnel.
What happened inside the tunnel is also unclear, but we know that there was a convoy of military vehicles heading for Afghanistan and a convoy of civilians and refugees travelling to Russia. It seems that there was a collision that caused a fire. The convoys stopped, and because it was so cold in the tunnel many drivers left their engines running. Poisonous fumes quickly built up because of the lack of ventilation and these fumes suffocated the people trapped inside the tunnel. Some reports say that when the accident happened the tunnel was sealed at both ends by Russian military. This is because they thought that an ambush had taken place and they wanted to prevent the escape of the terrorists. Other reports claim that the accident was caused by an Afghani driving a fuel tanker who deliberately crashed into the line of Russian military vehicles on a suicide mission.
The reason we don’t know the whole story is that governments are very nervous about revealing details of military accidents, and the Soviet government was probably the most secretive of all. It was not until two years after the disaster that there was a report in a Soviet newspaper mentioning a "sad event" in which "a truck stalled in the tunnel and several people died of suffocation."
In fact, some reports claim that as many as 2,000 people died in this accident. This is probably an exaggeration, but it seems certain that the Salang Tunnel disaster was the world’s worst ever road crash.
http://esl.fis.edu/students/projects/disaster/salang.htm
Does anyone know anything else about this accident?
What happened inside the tunnel is also unclear, but we know that there was a convoy of military vehicles heading for Afghanistan and a convoy of civilians and refugees travelling to Russia. It seems that there was a collision that caused a fire. The convoys stopped, and because it was so cold in the tunnel many drivers left their engines running. Poisonous fumes quickly built up because of the lack of ventilation and these fumes suffocated the people trapped inside the tunnel. Some reports say that when the accident happened the tunnel was sealed at both ends by Russian military. This is because they thought that an ambush had taken place and they wanted to prevent the escape of the terrorists. Other reports claim that the accident was caused by an Afghani driving a fuel tanker who deliberately crashed into the line of Russian military vehicles on a suicide mission.
The reason we don’t know the whole story is that governments are very nervous about revealing details of military accidents, and the Soviet government was probably the most secretive of all. It was not until two years after the disaster that there was a report in a Soviet newspaper mentioning a "sad event" in which "a truck stalled in the tunnel and several people died of suffocation."
In fact, some reports claim that as many as 2,000 people died in this accident. This is probably an exaggeration, but it seems certain that the Salang Tunnel disaster was the world’s worst ever road crash.
http://esl.fis.edu/students/projects/disaster/salang.htm
Does anyone know anything else about this accident?