Inside the Anzob ‘tunnel of death’ in Tajikistan
Good luck getting out of here alive.
The Anzob Tunnel was supposed to make life easier for people wanting to travel between Tajikistan’s major cities.
Before
the tunnel was built, drivers had to cross the border into Uzbekistan
via a dirt road in order to travel between the Tajik capital of
Duschanbe, and it’s second biggest city of Khujand. They also faced the
threat of year-round avalanches blocking the roads, leaving people with
the only option of flying — simply too expensive for most.
So a 5km long, $4 billion tunnel, built by Iran, was meant to be a step up.
The
tunnel was officially opened in 2006 but remained unfinished until
March this year. Within a matter of three months, it had to be closed
for repair work and reopened in September.
It quickly became known as the “tunnel of death” by locals and those who braved the nightmarish journey.
It’s
a dark, dangerous place, with hardly any lights inside and it’s
suffocating as there’s no ventilation bar one fan. Locals have shared
stories of a number of people dying inside it due to traffic jams that
leave people trapped, where they succumbed to carbon monoxide.
There’s
also the fact it’s almost like an obstacle course, with huge,
axle-snapping potholes threatening to swallow up the car, along with
flooding that almost turns them into tunnel ponds.
Throw in the hazard of falling rocks and you’ll want to be alert if you take on the journey.
It’s also quite narrow — with a two-lane system, often ignored as drivers dodge obstacles.
Explorer Silvan Graf described his experience with the road in a video uploaded to YouTube:
“Even
in good weather conditions the tunnel is flooded, turning the giant pot
holes in the unfinished road into invisible death traps.
“Unmarked
drainage channels waiting to swamp your bike. The tunnel lacks proper
lighting and ventilation, breathing is hard and painful due to the thick
mixture of exhaust gases.”
