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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.