Massive landslide in Pakistan buries trucks near Afghan border, 2 killed

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – At least two people were killed and several more wounded as a huge landslide buried several vehicles in northwestern Pakistan early on Tuesday.

Some 20 trucks loaded with containers and goods were buried in the landslide near Torkham, a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to an official.

Search operations are underway and at least eight people have been rescued, Bilal Ahmed Faizi, spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 service, told Anadolu.

“It’s a massive landslide and around 20 or more trucks and containers have buried. We don’t know how many people are in the trucks,” he said.

He said two fatalities have been confirmed “but the death toll could rise further.”

Faizi said the route has been closed to traffic and hundreds of vehicles are stuck on either side of the border.

According to local reports, a massive chunk of a mountain fell off after it was struck by lightning during heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area.​​​​​​​