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February 8, 2010
A freak storm triggered a series of avalanches that buried more than 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of road near the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing 175 people and trapping more than 2,500 travellers.
2010 Salang avalanches
The 2010 Salang avalanches consisted of a series of at least 36 avalanches that struck the southern approach to the Salang Tunnel, north of Kabul. They were caused by an unusually intense snowstorm traveling through the Hindu Kush mountains.
Salang Tunnel
The Salang Tunnel is a 2.67-kilometre-long (1.66 mi) tunnel located at the Salang Pass in northern Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 90 km (56 mi) north of the nation's capital, Kabul. At nearly 3,400 m (11,200 ft) above sea level, the tunnel work was originally completed by the Soviet Union in 1964.