Salang Pass

Salang Pass
One of the galleries at the Salang Pass
Salang Pass is located in Afghanistan
Salang Pass
Salang Pass
Location within Afghanistan
Elevation3,878 m (12,723 ft)
Location
LocationParwan-Baghlan, Afghanistan
RangeHindu Kush
Coordinates35°18′49.44″N 69°02′13.51″E / 35.3137333°N 69.0370861°E / 35.3137333; 69.0370861

The Salang Pass (Dari: كتل سالنگ Kutal-i Salang; Pashto: د سالنګ کوتل Da Salang Kutal, el. 3,878 m or 12,723 ft) is a high-altitude mountain pass in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush mountains, which has long served as the primary economic and logistical lifeline connecting the northern provinces with the rest of the country. The southern part of the pass is located in Parwan Province and the northern part in Baghlan Province. The Salang Pass and the Kushan Pass were of great importance in early times as they provided the most direct connections between Kabulistan with northern Afghanistan or Tokharistan. The Salang River originates nearby and flows south.

The Salang Tunnel is located in the southern part of the Salang Pass. It is at a height of about 3,400 m (11,200 ft) and marks as the jurisdictional boundary between Parwan and Baghlan provinces. It was built between 1958 and 1964 by Soviet Union's assistance. In 1997, the tunnel was partially blown-up by Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance in order to prevent forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) (Taliban) from passing through it. In 2002 the Russian Ministry Of Emergency Situations organized the work to rebuild the tunnel and the repairs were completed within a month.

The Salang Pass links Kabul in the south with Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz in the north. Before the road and tunnel were built, the main route between Kabul and northern Afghanistan was via the Shibar Pass, a much longer route which took three days. The road through the pass has carried heavy military traffic in recent conflicts and is in a sub-optimal condition as a result.

February 2010 avalanches

On February 9, 2010, the pass was hit by multiple avalanches. According to press reports the road through the pass was hit by 17 avalanches, killing dozens, burying miles of highway, and trapping the vehicles in the Salang tunnel. By February 10, 2010, authorities had recovered over 160 bodies. Radio Free Europe reported the first avalanche blocked the tunnel, and trapped vehicles in a traffic jam in a "deadly avalanche zone".

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Library of Congress Country Study: Afghanistan Chapter 2: Mountains
  2. ↑ Newsru. Jan 19 2002. Salang Pass reopened again
  3. ↑ Rod Norland (2010-02-09). "Avalanches Kill Dozens on Mountain Highway in Afghanistan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-10. Heavy winds and rain set off 17 avalanches that buried more than two miles of highway at a high-altitude pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range, entombing hundreds of cars and cutting off Kabul's heavily traveled link to northern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
  4. ↑ Rahim Faiez (2010-02-09). "Avalanches swamp Afghan pass: Scores of bodies pulled from cars as coalition joins search for injured". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-02-10. A series of avalanches engulfed a mountain pass in Afghanistan, trapping hundreds of people in their buried cars and killing at least 24 people, authorities said Tuesday.
  5. ↑ Ahmed Hanayesh, Ron Synovitz (2010-02-10). "From Afghan Avalanche, Tales Of Tragedy And Survival". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2010-02-10. By the evening of February 10, authorities had recovered the bodies of more than 160 victims buried by a series of avalanches. The stories told to RFE/RL by survivors suggest the death toll could rise as search teams continue their work -- and when the spring thaw reveals the full extent of the tragedy. The first avalanche blocked the highway just south of the Salang Tunnel. As the traffic began to pile up, travelers in cars, trucks, and buses found themselves trapped in a deadly avalanche zone. Then, one after another, as many as 16 more avalanches wiped their vehicles off the road.