KABUL – At least 100 oil and gas tankers carrying millions of dollars worth of fuel caught fire yesterday, creating an inferno at Afghanistan’s biggest trade crossing with Iran, said officials.
The blaze broke out in the early afternoon at Islam Qala port, 120km from the the western city of Herat, engulfing the tankers that were parked nearby after crossing the border.
“There were between 200 and 300 fuel tankers there, and we managed to save some, but most have been engulfed, and the fire is so huge that nobody can get to within even 1km of it,” said Younus Qazi Zada, head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce.
“The initial estimate is of millions of dollars in losses, but we have to wait until the fire is extinguished for a proper assessment of the damage.”
About 20 people have been taken to hospital, some of them with serious burns, said Ibrahim Mohammadi, head of the Herat ambulance service.
Jailani Farhad, spokesman for the governor of Herat province, said: “We don’t have the required facilities to contain (the fire), so through the Foreign Ministry, we have asked the government of Iran to help us contain it.”
The cause of the blaze is unknown, he said.
Videos posted on social media showed towering flames and huge clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
Some 60% of the province is left without power as a result of the fire, said Afghan energy company DABS.
Islam Qala is one of the major ports in Afghanistan, through which most official trade with Iran is conducted.
Afghanistan has received waivers from Washington allowing it to import oil and gas from Iran despite United States sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the border is “held open for trucks, cars and people running from the fire” towards Iran.
He added that authorities from both countries are helping to tackle the blaze.
Taking advantage of the situation, Taliban insurgents attacked a nearby security post after the blaze broke out, said Farhad.
Afghanistan has been hit by a surge in violence despite peace talks that started last September between the Taliban and Kabul, which have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
The rise in violence has led US President Joe Biden’s administration to launch a review of a deal signed between Washington and the Taliban last year that paved the way for the withdrawal of all American troops in the coming months. – AFP, February 14, 2021
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