Darbandikhan Tunnel reopens after fatal crash in Sulaymaniyah

SULAYMANIYAH — The incident occurred around 1:30 am when a fuel tanker collided with a car carrying five passengers inside the tunnel. Two passengers from the car were pronounced dead at the scene, while the remaining three were rushed to hospitals in Sulaymaniyah for treatment.

Sleman Mohammed, the mayor of Darbandikhan, told 964media that four of the passengers were from the same family. He added that the driver and a 14-year-old girl were among those who lost their lives in the accident.

Jasim Alikhani, director of Darbandikhan Traffic, told 964media that “after removing the vehicles and cleaning the tunnel, it was reopened to traffic following 10 hours of intensive work.”

The tunnel was closed immediately after the crash to allow civil defence teams to remove the vehicles and address the risk of fuel leakage from the truck, which was carrying a significant amount of flammable Naphtha.

Darbandikhan serves as a crucial route for fuel trucks smuggling Kurdish oil into Iran through the Parvez Khan border crossing in Garmian independent administration, eventually reaching Afghanistan and Pakistan. This illicit trade has led to significant traffic accidents.

According to a July 11 report by Reuters, “more than 1,000 tankers carry at least 200,000 barrels of cut-price oil every day to Iran and, to a lesser extent, Turkey—bringing in about $200 million a month.” This surge in trucked oil followed the halt of exports of approximately 450,000 barrels per day in March 2023.