Disasters & Accidents

Several dead in avalanches in eastern Afghanistan

Kabul, Feb 19 (EFE).- At least 27 people died and nine injured by avalanches in eastern Afghanistan, following heavy snowfall in the region in recent days, authorities said Monday.

One of the avalanches took place overnight in the province of Nuristan in which “25 people died and eight others were injured,” Janan Sayeq, an official in the Taliban government’s Ministry of Disaster Management, said in a video shared with EFE.

Another avalanche hit Panjshir province, where two miners inside a mine were killed, while one was injured, the provincial government’s media department told EFE.

Nuristan authorities had initially found six bodies in the avalanche, which damaged about 20 houses, although another 20 people were estimated to be under the rubble, according to provincial natural disaster management director Samiullah Haqbayan.

Afghanistan has experienced heavy snowfall this winter, especially in the north and east of the country, where new blizzards were recorded Sunday.

Without access to its financial reserves and under international sanctions, the Taliban government has few resources at its disposal, intensifying its dependence on aid from humanitarian organizations.

At least 15 people were killed a year ago due to several avalanches in the eastern Kunar province, a mountainous region bordering Pakistan and Nuristan. EFE

lk-hbc/sc

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