"The fire in the neighbor's house is the fire in our house and we must help Afghanistan with all our might,” Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, the assistant to Iranian foreign minister and Director General of West Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted on Saturday following a huge gas tanker at Islam Qala border market in Afghanistan’s Herat province, which is still engulfing dozens of fuel tanker trucks.
"I did everything that was within my duties, now I am waiting to see what will happen in practice," the Iranian FM assistant added.
A gas tanker exploded at a customs post in Afghanistan’s border town of Islam Qala near the Iranian border Saturday noon.
The fire spread to dozens of nearby fuel trucks, officials said.
According to Afghan media citing Waheed Qatali, governor of the western province of Herat, Iranian authorities had been asked for urgent assistance to contain the blaze.
It was not immediately clear what caused the gas tanker to explode.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that around 300 trucks have been engulfed in the fire and the number of fatalities could rise to at least 50.
According to Afghan officials, the explosion has cut Iran’s electricity export to Herat province.
Iran has dispatched firefighters and military forces to the explosion-hit area.
MR/IRN84227924
15:59 - 2021/02/13
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