KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says at least 107 people have been killed in recent days by avalanches caused by heavy snow in different parts of the country, nearly doubling an earlier death toll estimate of 54.

Omer Mohammadi, spokesman for the Afghan state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, said Monday that more than 65 others have been injured and more than 150 homes destroyed by the avalanches.

Many of the newest fatalities come from Nuristan province, near the Pakistani border, where two villages were buried in snow. Mohammadi said that rescue teams have so far recovered 48 bodies from those villages.</s>Avalanches in Afghanistan have killed at least 54 people in the last three days, officials said Sunday.

Omer Mohammadi, spokesman for the Afghan state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, said that more than 50 others have been injured in different parts of the country, updating an earlier toll.

He said more than 150 homes have been destroyed by the avalanches and that 50 others were heavily damaged. The avalanches, which came after heavy snowfall, have also killed an estimated 550 animals and destroyed more than 2,500 acres of farmland, Mohammadi said.

Mohammad Aseem, governor of the hard-hit northern province of Parwan, said that 16 people were killed and eight others injured in avalanches in two districts. He said a team had been dispatched to affected areas but that many roads were blocked by snow. He and other officials said the death toll may rise as reports come in from remote areas.

On Sunday, the government declared a public holiday due to the heavy snowfall.</s>Image copyright EPA Image caption Rescue workers are trying to reach the avalanche-hit areas of Chitral, Pakistan

Heavy snow and avalanches have killed more than 106 people and injured dozens in Afghanistan.

In the deadliest incident, 53 people died in one village after an avalanche in Nuristan, a north-eastern Afghan province on the Pakistan border.

Thirteen people were also killed in an avalanche in northern Pakistan, nine of them in the town of Chitral.

Dozens of houses have been destroyed and people were reported to have frozen to death, trapped in cars.

Afghanistan's minister of state natural disasters, Wais Ahmad Barmak, confirmed the number of dead to BBC Afghan. There were also avalanches to the north of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"Avalanches have buried two entire villages," a spokesman for the ministry told news agency AFP of the Barg Matal area in Nuristan.

The neighbouring mountainous province of Badakhshan was also badly hit by snow storms.

Rescuers are experiencing difficulty reaching trapped people, because of bad weather and snow-blocked roads.

Provincial Council member Khalilullah Ghayor told BBC Afghan that two helicopters will be deployed to the area to look for survivors and deliver aid.

The main international airport in Kabul has also been closed because of snow and ice on the runway.

On the Kabul-Kandahar highway, police and soldiers rescued some 250 vehicles that were trapped.

The Salang pass north of Kabul was also closed under as much as 2.5m (7ft) of snow, local police chief Rajab Salangi said, according to Reuters news agency.

At least two stranded drivers have frozen to death. Dozens are marooned there without food.

Officials are warning of more avalanches as snow storms are continuing.</s>At least 84 reported dead in avalanches, house collapses across eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.

Scores of people have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by heavy snow and avalanches that hit mountainous areas in the region, officials said.

In eastern Afghanistan, at least 50 people were killed and dozens more remain missing after an avalanche buried a village in Nuristan province, provincial governor Hafiz Abdul Qayum said, leaving many homeless.

"Most affected are women and children," he said, adding that many houses collapsed, killing at least five people and leaving many families without shelter.

"The area is completely blocked because of snow so it is very difficult for us to send support, but we are trying our best."

Qayum said local rescue operations continued at the site, adding the death toll might increase.

In the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, at least 19 people were killed and 17 injured in avalanches, collapsed roofs and road accidents over the last two days, Naweed Frotan, a government spokesperson, said.

The government was still struggling to reach at least 12 districts in Badakhshan province that had been completely cut off, Qayum said.

Heavy snow also blanketed the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, forcing government offices to close across the city.

In neighbouring Pakistan, at least nine people, including at least three children, were killed early on Sunday morning when an avalanche in the northwestern Chitral district destroyed 22 houses, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement.

Three people were injured in avalanche, with one in critical condition, the statement said.

"Rescue operations at the site have finished for now," Gul Hammad Farooqi, a local journalist in Chitral, said.

"They were carried out by the local population, because no one was able to reach the site, even by helicopter."

No more residents of the village were currently being reported missing, Farooqi said, citing senior local officials.

Roads to the remote Shershal village, where the avalanche occurred, remained blocked due to the snowfall, and rescue crews were forced to rush to the surrounding areas by helicopter, the NDMA said.

In a separate incident in the Chitral region, a paramilitary soldier was killed and six others were injured when their post collapsed under an avalanche in the Pisotan area, Pakistan's military said in a statement.

The surviving soldiers had been rescued, the statement said.

Parts of the Chitral valley received more than five feet of snow in the previous 24 hours, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said in a statement on Sunday, with scattered snowfall forecast for Monday.

The snow wreaked havoc on major roads in Afghanistan, including the main Kabul-Kandahar highway, where police and soldiers rescued passengers in about 250 vehicles trapped by the storm, said Jawed Salangi, a spokesman for Ghazni province.

The Salang pass, north of Kabul, was also closed under as much as two and a half metres of snow, officials said.

In Pakistan, all inter-district roads in Chitral were closed, while a major highway linking Chitral to the Dir district, and another linking parts of the upper Swat valley were only open to traffic under restrictions, NDMA said.</s>Heavy snow and avalanches have killed more than 106 people and injured dozens in Afghanistan.

In the deadliest incident, 53 people died in one village after an avalanche in Nuristan, a North-Eastern Afghan province on the Pakistan border.

Thirteen people were also killed in an avalanche in Northern Pakistan, nine of them in the town of Chitral.

Dozens of houses have been destroyed and people were reported to have frozen to death, trapped in cars.

Afghanistan’s minister of State Natural Disasters, Wais Ahmad Barmak, confirmed the number of dead to BBC Afghan. There were also avalanches to the North of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“Avalanches have buried two entire villages,” a spokesman for the ministry said.

The neighbouring mountainous province of Badakhshan was also badly hit by snow storms.

Rescuers are experiencing difficulty reaching trapped people because of bad weather and snow-blocked roads.

Provincial Council member Khalilullah Ghayor told BBC Afghan that two helicopters will be deployed to the area to look for survivors and deliver aid.

The main international airport in Kabul has also been closed due to snow and ice on the runway.

On the Kabul-Kandahar highway, police and soldiers rescued some 250 vehicles that were trapped.

At least two stranded drivers have frozen to death while dozens are marooned there without food.

Officials are warning of more avalanches as snow storms are continuing.</s>Afghan official: Avalanches in Afghanistan kill at least 107

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says at least 107 people have been killed in recent days by avalanches caused by heavy snow in different parts of the country, nearly doubling an earlier death toll estimate of 54.

Omer Mohammadi, spokesman for the Afghan state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, said Monday that more than 65 others have been injured and more than 150 homes destroyed by the avalanches.

Many of the newest fatalities come from Nuristan province, near the Pakistani border, where two villages were buried in snow. Mohammadi said that rescue teams have so far recovered 48 bodies from those villages.</s>Nearly 100 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the weekend as a result of heavy snow and resultant avalanches, collapsed buildings, and road accidents. Government offices and the international airport have closed in the capital city of Kabul and at least 12 districts have been rendered inaccessible by snow accumulation on the roads.

An estimated 250 vehicles are trapped in the snow on one highway alone, and the dangerous conditions have limited rescue efforts. "There is no way to rush the injured persons to [the] hospital because all roads in the valley have been blocked due to heavy snowfall," said an official of the Chitral district of Pakistan.

Snow storms are continuing Sunday and more avalanches are anticipated. Bonnie Kristian</s>Kabul: Parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan struggled to dig out from heavy snow on Sunday, with dozens of people reported killed and some major highways closed.

Heavy snow also blanketed the Afghan capital of Kabul, where the government closed its offices.

In northern Afghanistan`s Badakhshan province, over the past two days as many as 19 people were killed and 17 injured by avalanches, collapsed roofs and road accidents, said Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

The government was working to reach at least 12 districts in Badakhshan that had been completely cut off, he added.

On the other side of the border, at least nine people, including children, were killed by an avalanche in northern Pakistan`s Chitral district, with as many as 14 residents still trapped in collapsed houses, said district official Syed Maghferat Shah.

"So far the rescue workers have recovered nine bodies and efforts are under way to retrieve more," he said.

The snow wreaked havoc on major roads in Afghanistan, including the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where police and soldiers had to rescue around 250 cars and buses trapped by the storm, said Jawid Salangi, a spokesman for Ghazni province, where as much as two metres of new snow was reported.

"Some people were carried to local residents’ houses and some to military and police checkpoints," he said, noting that officials expected the road to reopen quickly. "Fortunately we arrived on time and there is not a single causality."

The Salang pass north of Kabul was also closed under as much as two and a half metres of snow, according to police general Rajab Salangi, who oversees the area.

"It will remain blocked until the snow is cleared from the main road, facilities are provided and it is safe to travel,” he said.</s>Parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan struggled to dig out from heavy snow on Sunday, with dozens of people reported killed and some major highways closed.

Heavy snow also blanketed the Afghan capital of Kabul, where the government closed its offices.

In northern Afghanistan‘s Badakhshan province, over the past two days as many as 19 people were killed and 17 injured by avalanches, collapsed roofs and road accidents, said Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

The government was working to reach at least 12 districts in Badakhshan that had been completely cut off, he added.

On the other side of the border, at least nine people, including children, were killed by an avalanche in northern Pakistan’s Chitral district, with as many as 14 residents believed to still be trapped in collapsed houses, said district official Syed Maghferat Shah.

“So far the rescue workers have recovered nine bodies and efforts are under way to retrieve more,” he said.

The avalanche struck a small village of 25 houses, but evacuation operations were delayed by the weather, said Chitral deputy commissioner Shahab Hameed Yousafzai.

“There is no way to rush the injured persons to Chitral hospital because all roads in the valley have been blocked due to heavy snowfall,” he said.

In a separate incident in the Chitral region, a government rescue worker was killed when an avalanche struck a check post near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the commanding officer told Reuters.

The snow wreaked havoc on major roads in Afghanistan, including the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where police and soldiers had to rescue around 250 cars and buses trapped by the storm, said Jawid Salangi, a spokesman for Ghazni province, where as much as two metres of new snow was reported.

“Some people were carried to local residents’ houses and some to military and police checkpoints,” he said, noting that officials expected the road to reopen quickly. “Fortunately we arrived on time and there is not a single causality.”

The Salang pass north of Kabul was also closed under as much as two and a half metres of snow, according to police general Rajab Salangi, who oversees the area.

“It will remain blocked until the snow is cleared from the main road, facilities are provided and it is safe to travel,” he said.</s>Afghan officials say more than 100 people died in avalanches over the weekend, after nearly 10 feet of snow buried some parts of the country around Kabul and east to the Pakistan border.

Dozens of houses were destroyed and "people were reported to have frozen to death, trapped in cars," according to the BBC.

Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul was closed on Sunday, after nearly 2 feet of snow covered the runways, according to Afghanistan's TOLO News, and north of the capital, the Salang pass into the Hindu Kush mountains was reportedly buried under 7 feet of snow.

At least one helicopter was shuttling supplies and people to the province of Nuristan, on the border with Pakistan northeast of Kabul, where provincial Gov. Hafiz Abdul Qayyom told Agence France-Presse that at least 64 people were killed. Most of the deaths occurred in one devastated village, he said.

"Most affected are women and children," he told Al Jazeera on Sunday. "The area is completely blocked because of snow so it is very difficult for us to send support, but we are trying our best."

CNN reported that people also died in an avalanche on the other side of the border, in Pakistan. The BBC said at least 13 people there died, nine of them in the town of Chitral.

Al Jazeera reported that parts of the mountainous region received more than 5 feet of snow over the weekend, and that "scattered snowfall" was forecast for Monday in the Chitral valley.

The AFP reported that some hard-hit areas in Afghanistan were still not accessible on Monday:



"There had been no word yet from some villages in Nuristan, which Qayyom said had received nearly [10 feet] of snow, with blocked roads and mountainous terrain hampering the rescue effort. " 'We will evacuate wounded victims to the city of Jalalabad for treatment,' [Qayyom] said, adding that skies were clear on Monday."



Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, also on the Pakistan border. The U.S. says most Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan are located in Nangarhar, and has been attacking the region with drones, as The Two-Way has reported.

NATO has more than 13,000 international troops on the ground in Afghanistan as part of a so-called train, advise and assist mission to the country. The mission, named Resolute Support, did not announce any plans to assist directly in the rescue or cleanup effort following the avalanches, but did share a photo on Twitter of soldiers playing in the snow at Bagram Airfield.
Heavy snow and avalanches kill dozens of people in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, while Kabul International Airport is closed due to snow and ice on the runway.