Rescuers battle to reach Afghan avalanche victims as toll climbs to 120

KABUL // Rescuers are battling to reach survivors of avalanches in Afghanistan’s remote, mountainous north, as the death toll climbed to nearly 120 amid growing fears dozens remain trapped beneath the snow.

At least 119 people died and 89 were injured in avalanches and by collapsed roofs and traffic accidents, in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces over the past three days, said Wais Ahmad Barmak, minister for disaster management.

“There is a possibility that some people still could be trapped in some areas and we do not have information yet,” he said.

Around the country nearly 200 homes were destroyed and 500 head of livestock were killed, Mr Barmak said.

Aid has been delivered by helicopter to worst-hit Nuristan province, where at least 64 people were killed — including 53 in one village, provincial governor Hafiz Abdul Qayyom said.

But there has been no word yet from some villages in Nuristan which Mr Qayyom said received nearly three metres 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 on 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 UN humanitarian coordinator, Mark Bowden, said the Afghan government was leading rescue operations, but the United Nations “stands ready to fully support” the relief effort.

“With some areas difficult to access, it may take some time until a clear picture of the full extent of the damage is known,” the UN said.

Unusually, snow even fell in the southern province of Kandahar.

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.

Though bringing misery to so many people, snow is vital for Afghanistan, where most farmers rely on snow melting in the mountains to sustain crops in the spring and summer.

* Agence France-Presse and Reuters