At least two people were killed and eight injured in a landslide that buried dozens of trucks waiting to cross a border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan just before dawn on Tuesday, officials said.
Rescuers fear other people, dead or alive, are trapped under the rubble. Search dogs have been deployed at the scene while rescuers carefully use large broaching machines to clear the debris.
Nearly 120 trucks were preparing to cross the Torkham border post, the main crossing and trading point between the two countries, when the landslide struck.
“We found two bodies and took eight injured to the hospital,” Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Rescue 1122, told AFP.
It’s hard to say how many people are still trapped under the rubble, but survivors said they’ve received calls from missing colleagues.
“They are no longer receiving any calls (…) Perhaps the phone batteries of those trapped are dead, or perhaps there is another reason,” underlined Mr. Faizi.
Small flames erupted after the disaster as drivers and their helpers prepared meals on gas stoves before dawn during the fasting month of Ramadan.
“The fire is now under control. The rescue operation continues with the help of excavators and heavy machinery,” Faizi added.
The cause of the landslide was initially unknown. A local administrator, Ali Raza, noted that heavy machinery had been used for months to widen the hills surrounding the border post.
Torrential rain overnight may also have contributed to the landslide, he said.
Authorities have temporarily closed the border post to road traffic, but it remains open to pedestrians, according to the same source.