Russian Experts, Afghan Builders Clear 150 Metres Of Salang Tunnel

Russian experts and Afghan builders have cleared 150 metres of the tunnel's southern part at Salang pass (3,700 metres above the sea level), Afghanistan, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said. France is financing the reconstruction of the Salang road and British experts are supplying energy. The road via Salang linking Afghanistan's south and north is strategically important for the restoration of the Afghan common economic space. The tunnel was built by Soviet experts in 1968 and was exploded 30 years later by the retreating Northern Alliance's troops. Last Sunday 189 people came to the doctors of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's mobile hospital in Kabul. Since the beginning of December, the doctors of the hospital have given medical aid to 2,285 Afghans, the press service said.