Afghanistan: Fuel tanker explosions in Herat injure 60; blasts spotted from space

At least 60 people have been injured in Afghanistan’s Herat province after a fuel tanker exploded on Saturday, February 13.  The twin explosions resulted into a massive fire that consumed more than 500 trucks loaded with natural gas and fuel according to Afghan officials. The first explosion erupted around 1:10 pm Afghanistan time while the second occurred nearly half an hour later at 1:42 pm Afghanistan time. The number of potential casualties is not yet confirmed. "For the time being, we can’t even talk about the casualties," Wahid Qatali, Herat’s provincial governor told the Associated Press.

Observed by NASA

The reason behind the blast has yet not been confirmed. However, both the blasts which jolted Islam Qala, a town located on the Afghanistan –Iran border, were powerful enough to be observed by the NASA satellites from the outer space. The fire continued after nightfall and forced Afghanistan to shut down its electrical supply from Iran, leaving Herat in the dark, said Wahidullah Tawhidi, spokesman for the Ministry of Power Supply. The blazes were eventually brought down the next morning with the help of resue forces n firefighters from Iran, The Guardian reported citing Herat’s governor.

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The Herat border crossing is a major transit point between both the country and stretches as far as 120 kilometers. The United States allows Afghanistan to import fuel and oil from Iran as part of a special concession that exempts Kabul from US sanctions against Iran. Satellite photos were taken Saturday and assessed by the AP, before the explosion showed dozens of tankers parked at the border crossing.

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