A fuel tanker exploded at the Islam Qala crossing in the Herat province of Afghanistan on the Iranian border, resulting in a massive fire that burnt over 500 trucks carrying natural gas and fuel. Afghan and Iranian media report that as of now, the immediate cause of the blast and subsequent fire is still unclear, though at least 7 people have been admitted to local medical facilities. Some local reports suggest that as many as 5 dozen people were injured in the blast and fire. NASA reported that satellites detected two explosions from space, one at 13:10 and the second at 13:42 local Afghan time.

As of now, the fire is still continuing to burn and has forced Afghanistan to shut down its electrical supply from Iran. Wahidullah Tawhidi, the spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Power Supply, stated that 100 megawatts of electricity imported from Iran to the Herat province has disconnected as two pylons have been destroyed by the fire. Currently, Mr. Tawhidi estimates that 60% of households in the Herat province have been left without electricity. Meanwhile, Younus Qazizada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told media outlets that the explosion and blaze has already caused over 50 million United States dollars worth of damage though evaluations are still ongoing.

Herat Provincial Governor Wahid Qatali requested Iranian firefighting aircraft support, as local first responders lacked the equipment necessary to contain and combat the fire. In response, Iranian Director General of Crisis Management in the Khorasan Razavi province responded that "rescue forces and firefighters are underway to extinguish the fire inside Afghanistan".

Note: All images used in this article were retrieved from the public domain, and do not require attribution or citation for commercial purposes.