A senior official from the electronic identity cards department was killed with four members of his family in the mass fire at Salang Tunnel.

Mohammad Hanif Nashar, head of coordination for the electronic identity cards office and his wife and three children were heading from the northern province of Kunduz to Kabul when the incident happened, his relatives said.

Hanif Nashar was from the Chahardara district in Kunduz. The bodies were buried in Chahardara on Tuesday.

“There were two lines of cars. When he (Hanif Nashar) saw the fire, he jumped out of the car but couldn’t survive,” said Arif Nashar, brother of Hanif Nashar. 

“My brother was a good person. He was serving the people. His good deeds will always be remembered,” said Zarif Nashar, brother of Hanif Nashar. 

Tribal elders from Chahardara asked the government to pay attention to the prevention of such incidents in the future.

“The Islamic Emirate should have plans and measures to prevent such incidents. The current officials are responsible and should pay attention to it,” said Mohammad Gul, a tribal elder. 

Based on initial figures, more than 31 people have been killed and over 40 others have been wounded in the incident.