Death toll of Afghan avalanche rises to 26
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Xinhua, January 18, 2012
The death toll from a series of avalanches in northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan has risen to 26, a local official said on Wednesday.
"The latest reports received from remote districts of Badakhshan province shows that at least 26 people, including some women and children, have lost their lives due to a series of avalanches that hit several places in the province on Monday and Tuesday," head of provincial council Zabiullah Hateeq told Xinhua on Wednesday morning.
The natural disaster also injured over 40 others, some of them in critical condition, he added.
The Afghan National Police with the support of locals have rescued dozens of persons in the remote areas over the last two days but casualties could further rise as an unspecified number of people are still missing, according to Hateeq.
"The search and rescue operations are still going on Wednesday in many parts of the province," Hateeq said, adding the heavy snow has blocked the main roads to 15 of the 27 districts in the province with Faizabad as its capital, 315 km northeast of capital city of Kabul.
Heavy snowfall covered parts of northern and central parts of Afghanistan last week while Kabul, the capital of the war-torn nation, witnessed the snowfall on Saturday and Sunday.
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