Afghan official: At least 35 die in avalanche

 The remains of five other people lost in the snow slide that occurred two weeks ago have not yet been located, said police chief Aja Noor Kemtuz in Badakhshan province. Police and rescue workers spent four days getting to the scene, he said.

Five houses were destroyed in the avalanche, which occurred in the Arghang Khzahkha district north of Faizabad, about 50 kilometres south of the Tajikistan border. An estimated 500 cattle and other animals also were killed, he said.
Local residents reported the avalanche in the village of Dood Daood. The road to the village is blocked by snow for several months of the year.

"They are very poor people living in a very remote area," the police chief said.
"From this village to another village is a three days walk."
In February, at least 171 people died in an avalanche at the 3,800-meter-high Salang Pass, the major route through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the Afghan capital of Kabul to the north of the country.