Rescuers in Tajikistan searching for survivors after series of avalanches kills at least 17 people
The death toll from a series of avalanches has soared to 17 after an icy barrage hit the towns in the eastern region this week.
Rescuers in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region (GBAO), which borders China and Afghanistan, continued their search to find missing people and recover bodies on Friday.
Dozens of houses are burried in snow, and access to towns was cut off after the snow covered the roads, making the region impassable.
Footage on social media showed people fervently resuscitating a survivor recovered from under the snow. Several houses could be seen completely buried while others had their roofs blown away.
In Gorno-Badakhshan, more than 400 households have been relocated from dangerous areas after the avalanches hit homes as well as roads, the government said.
The mayor of capital Khorog of GBAO, Rizo Nazarzoda, urged its 30,000 residents to stay at home as heavy snow and rain battered the region.
According to the country’s Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CESCD), 16 people were killed in GBAO while one person was killed on the Dushanbe-Varzob highway as of Friday.
Some 69 avalanches have hit the Gorno-Badakhshan region since Thursday, one after the other, making several towns inaccessible and residents confined to their homes, it added.
More than 90 per cent of Central Asian country is covered with rugged mountains and avalanches as well as are a constant occuring, killing dozens of people every year.
As a result of an avalanche in the city of Khorog, #Tajikistan, 8 local residents died (a four-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, four women). By the efforts of rescuers until 14:00 on February 15, 2023, nine residents were rescued from under the avalanche. pic.twitter.com/3u5xYlbMOe
— Rukhshona Khakimova (@rkhakimova1993) February 15, 2023
A three-year-old child, two school children and five university students who were waiting for a bus were among the youngest fatalities of the latest onslaught of the disaster.
Two female students are missing in Ishkoshim, while several others have been reported missing.
Tajik emergency and rescue services are working at full capacity, the CESCD statement said. It issued a warning of danger from more avalanches in the coming days until Sunday, citing meteorological reports.
