00:00 In Pakistan, a single road, the Lowari Pass, vital for supplying villagers, connects Dir, a small town located in the tribal areas of the northwest of the country to the Chitral Valley, on the border with Afghanistan .
00:45 At 3,000 meters in the mountains, mechanical problems are fatal
01:54 In the valley this road is the only link with the rest of the world
03:48 Drive or die
05:50 Trucks have become homes for drivers
07:03 At 2000 meters altitude, the first difficulties arise
10:55 Avalanches and landslides are commonplace on the Lowari
13:13 Without fear no one can survive
13:52 The 45-turn zone
4:50 p.m. A landslide blocked the entire road
19:27 Drosh is known all over pakistan for the beauty of his trucks
23:45 After 24 hours, the road is finally unblocked
29:10 Self-sufficient inhabitants of Chitral
32:59 Even the children of the valley are in danger
41:30 The river blocks the attempts of the inhabitants to cross
43:23 Drivers deceiving death
44:05 Day of the dead
240 kilometers long, the Lowari Pass is the only crossing point through the mountain. Taking this road is far from being a piece of cake: it winds through the mountain and its vertiginous cornices. Usually it takes a day to get to the end of the trip, but that's rarely the case. We made the trip with Dawood, responsible for two trucks. at 23, he travels back and forth all the time - the more trips he makes, the more hazard rewards he accumulates. In the extreme cold and heat, the blows of fatigue arrive without warning, the concentration is at its maximum, because the slightest error can be fatal. Moreover, Dawood never leaves without his brother, Khalid, aged only 14, who is there to support him and to learn the trade. Like them, all those who take this road - drivers, travellers, traders... - have to face dust, snow, torrents, landslides. In view of the number of accidents on the road, the Pakistani government has launched a tunnel project through the mountain. The initiative delights the truckers, who will no longer have to climb, at the risk of their lives, the pass perched at an altitude of 3100 m from the Lowari Pass. In addition, the opening of the tunnel is supposed to reduce unemployment by 50%, which is very high in the valley. But it is not won yet: the "tunnel of death", as the inhabitants call it, is a passage of about ten kilometers to be dug through the mountain. And landslides are so frequent there that workers have to clear the ground every day. Often at the risk of their own lives.
00:00 In Pakistan, a single road, the Lowari Pass, vital for supplying villagers, connects Dir, a small town located in the tribal areas of the northwest of the country to the Chitral Valley, on the border with Afghanistan .
Director: Hugo Hayat
7 янв 2021
