The death toll from avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan has hit at least 28.

Officials in Badakhshan province said Thursday that more than 40 other people have been injured since heavy snowfall triggered avalanches earlier this week.

Rescuers were still struggling to reach parts of the mountainous region that remain cut off by snow measuring up to 3 meters in some areas.

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

In 2010, avalanches killed more than 150 people near the high-altitude Salang Pass through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the Afghan capital, Kabul, with the north.