At least 50 people were killed after a remote Afghan village was buried under a massive avalanche, an official said Sunday, warning the death toll could rise further.
The disaster in northeastern Nuristan province followed three days of heavy snow across Afghanistan which has killed 54 people elsewhere in the country, officials said.
Avalanches destroyed scores of homes and blocked roads in central and northeastern provinces, a spokesman for the ministry of natural disasters told AFP.
"So far, 54 persons have lost their lives and 52 were injured as a result of avalanches and freezing weather in 22 provinces," said Mohammad Omar Mohammadi.
He said 168 houses were destroyed and 340 cattle killed.
The avalanches, which followed three days of heavy snow, destroyed homes and blocked roads in central and northeastern provinces.
In northeastern Badakhshan province at least 18 people, including three women and two children, were killed when avalanches hit their houses overnight, provincial spokesperson Naweed Frotan said.
“Several dozens are still trapped, we are trying to rescue them,” he said, adding that many roads remained blocked.
Five people were killed by avalanches in the Balkhab district of Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan and at least 70 people trapped under the snow were being rescued, Zabiullah Amani, the provincial spokesman told AFP.
“The roads to Balkhab are still blocked and we are trying to open them,” he said.
Freezing weather also killed at least two people and over 100 animals in western Badghis province.
Deadly avalanches are common in Afghanistan’s mountainous areas in winter and rescue efforts are frequently hampered by lack of equipment.
Despite billions of dollars in aid after the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan remains among the world’s poorest nations after decades of conflict.
Last month, heavy snowfall and freezing weather killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan.
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