Snow, cold kill 33 in northern Afghanistan

At least 33 people have died in the past week due to severe weather in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, including 15 villagers who were killed in an avalanche, a provincial official said. The bodies of three people who had died from cold were recovered late on February 2, said a provincial official. Another 15 people died from cold earlier in the week and the bodies of 15 more were recovered after an avalanche destroyed several homes in about five villages of the province late on January 30, he said. “So far we have received 33 bodies,” he said, warning that the figure could increase as information came in from parts of the province that were inaccessible even on horseback because of the heavy snow.