Rescuers battle to reach Afghan avalanche victims

Rescuers are battling to reach survivors of avalanches in Afghanistan's remote, mountainous north, as the death toll topped 100 and fears are growing for dozens of people still believed trapped beneath the snow.

A view of a snow covered mountains in Badakhshan

A view of a snow covered mountains in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, 05 February 2017. Source: EPA

Aid is being delivered by helicopter to worst-hit Nuristan province, where at least 64 people have been killed -- including 53 in one village, provincial governor Hafiz Abdul Qayyom told AFP.

But there has been no word yet from some villages in Nuristan which Qayyom said received nearly three metres (10 feet) of snow, with blocked roads and mountainous terrain slowing the rescue effort.

"We will evacuate wounded victims to the city of Jalalabad for treatment," he said, adding that skies were clear Monday.

The snowfall had also blocked roads and killed at least 19 people in neighbouring Badakhshan, provincial governor's spokesman Naweed Ahmad Froutan said, adding that relief workers were struggling to get aid through by helicopter.

The series of avalanches over the weekend destroyed dozens of homes and killed livestock mostly in central and northern provinces.
Unusually, snow even fell in the southern province of Kandahar.

The updated tolls from Nuristan and Badakhshan brought the number of deaths across the country to at least 137 Monday, though authorities were due to update the figures later.

Officials said Sunday that at least 54 people were killed elsewhere in the country.

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 international aid after the ousting of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghanistan remains among the world's poorest nations.

Last month heavy snowfall and freezing weather killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world