Trapped in the Silent Tunnel

In eastern Afghanistan, there was an old mountain tunnel carved through solid rock.

Even loud voices died inside it. In 1987, during the Soviet–Afghan War,

a Soviet logistics unit was ordered to pass through the tunnel before dawn.

The route was faster. And supposedly safe. As the first truck entered, the engine sound

vanished — as if the tunnel swallowed noise itself. Radios crackled.

Then failed. Halfway through, the convoy stopped. The lead driver reported movement

ahead… but saw nothing. Then a red flare lit the far exit of the tunnel,

sealing the way forward. Behind them, the entrance collapsed in dust and stone.