The Salang tunnel fire occurred on November 3, 1982 in Afghanistan's only road tunnel, during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Details are unclear, but the incident may have been one of the deadliest fires of modern times. November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year war fought between the Soviet Red Army, Afghan, and foreign fighters in Afghanistan. ... A large bonfire Fire is a form of combustion. ...

Very few facts are known about the fire. All information available constitutes little more than hearsay, in part because the Soviet Army was not inclined to reveal massive losses while at war. Most sources agree that it involved a Red Army convoy travelling south through the tunnel. This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. ... Red Army flag The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya in Russian), the armed forces organised by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ...

There is much specualtion as to what caused the fire. It is possible that a northbound fuel tanker crashed into a military vehicle; other sources state that a northbound vehicle crashed into a munitions truck. There is speculation that there might have been an attack on the convoy in the tunnel, or that munitions in one of the military vehicles spontaneously combusted. Nothing is known for certain. Materiel (from the French for material) is the equipment and supplies in Military and commercial supply chain management. ...

What is known is that the Red Army sealed off access to the tunnel either after receiving reports from observers in the tunnel or after seeing smoke coming out of the portals. Many people in the tunnel then suffocated, killed either by fumes from the fire or by carbon monoxide emitted by idling engines. The size of the fire, how many vehicles were involved, and how long it went on for are all unknown. Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ... Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colourless, odourless, flammable and highly toxic gas. ...

The casualty figures are also unknown. Some sources say that around 1,000 people were killed, making it the world's deadliest road accident. Others go as high as 2,000. If the figure of 1,000 is correct, this death toll from a fire is exceded in the 20th Century only by a fire in Chongqing, China, in 1949 that killed 1,700. A car accident in Yate, near Bristol, England, in July 2004. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: 重庆; Traditional Chinese: 重慶; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking; literally Double Celebration) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

External links and sources

• Summary from Frankfurt International School
• Casualty figures from 2001 (of unknown accuracy)
• Tunnel length and altitude
• BBC News, Inside the Salang tunnel, 2002
• BBC News, Report on the state of the Salang tunnel, 2002