A massive blaze engulfed a customs post in Afghanistan on Saturday after fuel trucks caught alight, injuring at least 60 people and prompting authorities across the nearby Iranian border to send fire engines and ambulances, officials said.
Scores of local residents battled to control the blaze in the border town of Islam Qala, which initial reports said had started after a gas tanker exploded. Officials said later that the cause was not immediately clear.
Waheed Qatali, governor of the western province of Herat, said Iranian authorities and NATO-led personnel in Afghanistan had been asked for urgent assistance to contain the fire, which damaged electricity infrastructure, leaving much of Herat’s capital city without power.
Thick plumes of black smoke and flames rose high into the air around the scene, television pictures showed.
Rescue workers and Afghan security forces moved hundreds of fuel and gas tankers from the area, while the international Resolute Support Mission was…