People search for survivors next to a damaged supply vehicle after a landslide close to the Torkham border, Pakistan, April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz
A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks on Tuesday, killing at least two people, with dozens more feared trapped, officials said.
"Twenty to twenty five containers are buried in the wreckage," Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Khyber district, told Reuters. "The wreckage is quite extensive and our rescue operation is continuing with heavy machinery."
He said two Afghan citizens had been killed, and authorities were trying to recover the bodies. Three other people had been taken to hospital and the number of casualties could rise, he added.
People carry the body of a victim after a landslide close to the Torkham border in Pakistan, April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz
The landslide took place in the early hours of Tuesday on the main route connecting Pakistan with land-locked Afghanistan, a major transit point for trade between the South Asian nations and into Central Asia.
Photos shared by officials showed truck containers mostly buried in huge piles of rocks.
(Reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Robert Birsel and Sonali Paul)
Rescue members and onlookers stand around a damaged supply vehicle after a landslide close to the Torkham border in Pakistan, April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz AzizPeople stand next to damaged supply vehicles after a landslide close to the Torkham border in Pakistan, April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz AzizPeople stand next to damaged supply vehicles after a landslide close to the Torkham border, Pakistan, April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz AzizRescuers work at the site of a landslide near Torkham border, Pakistan April 18, 2023. Khyber District Deputy Commissioner Office/Handout via REUTERS A view of trucks loaded with supplies are seen trapped in a landslide on the road close to the Torkham border, Pakistan April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz AzizRescue workers and people gather after trucks loaded with supplies were trapped in a landslide on the road close to the Torkham border, Pakistan April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer
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