According to Voice of America (VoA), a massive landslide in northwestern Pakistan killed at least two individuals and several got injured ,buried over 20 vehicles.
The landslide occured early Tuesday morning on the road connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan. Over 20 trucks were buried in the accident, which occurred near a border crossing on the Khyber Pass, an important commercial route between South Asian countries, number of persons were also hurt.
Officials said a heavy rain storm overnight could have triggered the landslide.
Bilal Faizi, spokesman for the Rescue 1122 service in the province, told Al Jazeera that the landslide took place before dawn after rain and thunderstorm were reported in the area.
Faizi said authorities have launched a search operation to look for people trapped under the landslide. He said there could be more than 20 vehicles, including large trucks, under the rubble.
“This is not a small landslide that can be cleaned up quickly. We have more than 60 people working here to remove the rubble. It’s like an entire mountain has collapsed,” Al Jazeera quoted Faizi as saying.
Earlier, in March, Torkham border was closed for several hours owing to a protest by the Khugakhel tribesmen in the Landi Kotal region of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the construction of a customs terminal at the border over their additional land without their formal consent, Dawn reported.
The agitated Khugakhel tribesmen agreed to open the road, which was closed at Torkham bypass in Landi Kotal after a group of their negotiating team held a series of talks with relevant officials.