The Anzob Tunnel in Tajikistan, Asia, also known as the “Tunnel of Death,” is considered the darkest and most dangerous tunnel in the world. Located on the M34 highway at an altitude of 2,700 meters in the Tajikistan mountains, the 5km tunnel doesn’t have lights or ventilation.

The dark tunnel is filled with thick smoke, making breathing “hard and painful due to the thick mixture of exhaust gases,” experts at Dangerous Roads explained. The terrifying underpass has huge potholes and lacks proper lighting and ventilation, making it extremely dangerous. The Anzob Tunnel connects Dushanbe, the capital of the country, and Khujand, the country’s second-largest city, and was built in 2006 to support heavy traffic.

There are also no traffic lights to regulate the thousands of vehicles that use it every day; instead, just darkness. The tunnel was partially renovated in 2018, adding drainage and repairing potholes, but it still needs further improvement, according to experts.

Dangerous Roads said: “The tunnel is dark and dangerous with hardly any lights inside, and it’s suffocating as there’s no ventilation but 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. The poisonous air in the tunnel is barely shifted by one solitary fan somewhere in the middle of the tunnel, which gives some, but not sufficient, movement to the air.

“Expect huge, axle-snapping potholes threatening to swallow up the car, along with flooding that almost turns them into tunnel ponds. Your whole SUV can submerge if you drive in the wrong place.

“There are no road markings, so driving on the left or the right are optional, with the middle being the common choice.

“Halfway along the tunnel, water floods the road as a result of an engineering fault. Oncoming cars and trucks emerge in the darkness with headlights flashing for the other drivers to get out of their way.”

A person shared his experience on Tripadvisor, saying: “We went through this tunnel twice with no ill effects other than fear!

“The traffic was two-way, and the darkness and lack of ventilation were scary, but we survived. The drive was scenic and fabulous and well worth the risk.”