At least 12 people have been killed and nine others injured in an avalanche in northeast Afghanistan.
At least 12 people have been killed in an avalanche in northeastern Afghanistan. (Photo: Reuters/Representative Image)
At least 12 people were killed in an avalanche in a remote mountainous corner of northeastern Afghanistan, a provincial spokesman said on Monday. Another nine were injured.
Najibullah Hanif, head of Kunar province’s Department of Information and Culture, said one person was missing after an avalanche near the Pakistani border late Sunday night. The landslide occurred after heavy snowfall throughout the day.
Hanif said Afghans from nearby villages rushed to help and were chased by officials, noting that district officials sent rescue teams to the remote area early Monday.
After the Taliban entered Afghanistan in mid-August, Pakistan closed its border with Afghanistan to clear the influx of refugees.
The country already hosts nearly 2 million Afghans who fled four decades of relentless warfare.
Informal border crossings are frequent, even as Pakistan has nearly completed a fence along the 2,670-kilometre (1,660 mi) length of the border separating the two countries.
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