Heavy avalanche blocks Baghlan-Takhar highway

PUL-I-KHUMRI (Pajhwok): An enormous avalanche blocked the vital Baghlan-Takhar Highway, forcing passengers of over 100 vehicles to take refuge in locals’ houses, the residents said on Wednesday.

The avalanche rolled down from a mountain on Tuesday afternoon in Guzargah district of Baghlan province, covered over one kilometer of the highway.

Khudaidad, a driver, said: “The road has been blocked since yesterday. If the government doesn’t take quick action it will multiply people’s problems.”

He told Pajhwok Afghan News the residents have given refuge to hundreds of passengers and were running out of food and other daily use commodities.

Nasir Ahmad Kohzad, head of Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, said two excavators had been dispatched to the area to clear the highway.

He assured the highway would be opened for traffic soon.

hg/rm

Visits: 0