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Afghan Avalanches Kill 165 People

   VOA News 10 February 2010

Photo: AP

   Afghans  get  into  an  army  truck  after  being  evacuated  from the
   avalanche  which  struck the Salang Pass, some 100 kms north of Kabul,
   Afghanistan, 09 Feb 2010

   Soldiers  and local volunteers in northern Afghanistan have found more
   bodies  and  survivors  from  recent  avalanches along a well-traveled
   mountain road.
   Afghan officials said Wednesday that at least 165 people died from the
   avalanches  in the Salang Pass - a 3,400-meter-high mountain road that
   connects Kabul to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
   Officials  said  rescue  workers using helicopters and heavy machinery
   have rescued more than 2,500 people.

   Days  of heavy snowfall triggered the avalanches, burying parts of the
   road  and  blocking  a  tunnel.  Media  reports  say  the force of the
   avalanches pushed two buses and several cars into a deep gorge.
   President  Hamid  Karzai has expressed condolences for the victims and
   ordered Afghan public works officials to assist the rescue effort.

   Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

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