Avalanche Kills 37 in Afghanistan

Posted March 6th, 2012 at 2:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Rescuers in northern Afghanistan shoveled through deep snow searching for victims of Monday's avalanche that buried an entire village, killing at least 37 people.

Authorities in Badakhshan province say they fear the death toll will rise as dozens of villagers remain trapped under the snow.

Afghan army helicopters descended on the remote village of around 200 people to try to rescue families — the latest victims of Afghanistan's worst winter in decades.

Heavy snowfall and snowslides are common during Afghanistan's harsh winters.

Earlier this year in the same province, more than 40 people perished in freezing cold and avalanches triggered by heavy snow.

In February 2010, a series of avalanches killed at least 165 people near the high-altitude Salang Pass through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the capital, Kabul, with the north.