At least two people were killed, and eight others were injured in a landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road from northwest Pakistan to Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday.
More than 120 trucks were waiting to cross at the busiest and most crucial transit point for trade between the two countries when the landslide struck the Torkham border post.
“We have recovered two bodies and have taken eight injured to hospital,” The Rescue 1122 emergency service’s spokesman, Bilal Faizi, told AFP.
Faizi added that fires started to spread after the landslip, with the worst striking roughly 120 meters from the major border crossing.
The cause of the landslide is unclear, although one official noted that heavy equipment had been employed on a border post extension project in the nearby hills for months.
Heavy rain could also contribute to the incident; meanwhile, authorities have closed the border crossing for trucks and other vehicles.
