Rockslide blocks Kabul-Jalalabad road in Daronta

JALALABAD (PAN-Jalalabad highway near the Daronta tunnel in eastern Laghman province, with authorities struggling to remove the debris, officials said on Friday.

A portion of mountain fell on the highway that connects eastern provinces with the central capital Kabul on Thursday night around 9pm, Laghman governor’s spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak, told Pajhwok Afghan News.  

The blockade measured 200 metres prevented vehicles from passing the area at the Qarghayi pass that connects Daronta and Surkhakan, the official said, adding the public works department of neighbouring Nangarhar had also sent its workers to help clear the road.

Zwak said Afghan army’s 201^st Selab Military Corps personnel had also joined the workers to help, but insufficient machinery remained the main problem to immediately remove those big rocks.

Governor Dr Fazlullah Mujadadi asked relevant departments to accelerate road clearing efforts and ensure passengers faced no difficulty.

Public works deputy director hoped the road would be clear for traffic until evening.

Thousands of vehicles remained stranded on either side of the blockade and passengers were in great trouble, said a resident of central Logar province, Faizuallah, who accompanied a patient on his way to Peshawar. He said the condition of his ailing relative was critical and could get worsen if the road was not cleared soon.

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