A number of avalanches have killed more than 200 people in different parts of Afghanistan after two days of heavy and continuous snowfall, with many more people still missing, officials said Thursday according to dpa. "At least 180 people have been killed in Panjsher province alone. Many people are still trapped under the snow," Mohammad Aslam Sayas,the deputy director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority, told dpa. "Twenty-five people have been killed in the northern province ofBadakshan. Thirteen people were killed in Parwan, three in Baghlan, four in Badghis, and four in Bamiyan. We have sent our rescue teams to all the areas which are suffering from this natural disaster," he said. "Until now we don't have any shortages in our aid mission but if it continues this way, we might need more resources very soon." Afghan officials said rescue efforts had restarted early on Thursday morning to find people buried under snow after a series of avalanches in Panjsher. The death toll from the avalanches has jumped as of Thursday evening, said Mujib Rahimi, the spokesman for Afghanistan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who visited the avalanche-hit districts to oversee the rescue operation. Rahimi said 13 villages in four districts were hit by avalanches.
