Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children in a remote district of northern Afghanistan, an official says.

Fifty centimeters of snow blocked roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan Province as temperatures plunged to minus 10 degrees Celsius, district Governor Rahmatullah Hashar said on January 26.

Hashar said the deaths occurred over the past two or three days, adding that all of the children were under the age of 5.

The fact that access for villagers has been cut off means the toll could rise, he also said.

However, the provincial governor's spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, said aid would be delivered.

Each winter, heavy snowfall, subzero temperatures, and avalanches kill scores of people in Afghanistan, where poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescuers to reach isolated areas.

Based on reporting by AFP and Pajhwok </s> MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in a remote district in northern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday, with fears the toll could rise.

Roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan province were blocked by 50 centimetres of snow, cutting off access for villagers in the area to medical care as temperatures plunged to -10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit).

"Unfortunately we have 27 children killed due to heavy snowfall and freezing weather," district governor Rahmatullah Hashar told AFP, saying the deaths had occurred over the last two or three days.

All the children were under the age of five, he said, adding the blocked roads mean the toll could still increase.

The deaths were confirmed by the Jawzjan provincial governor’s spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, who said aid would be delivered via emergency committees.

Heavy snowfall and avalanches kill scores of people in Afghanistan each winter.

In 2015, avalanches killed some 300 people across the country, the bulk of them in the mountainous province of Panjshir, north of Kabul.

Rescue efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods, which often hit as snows melt in the spring, are frequently hampered by lack of equipment. Poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescue teams to reach isolated areas.

Freezing weather kills 27 Afghan children was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on January 27, 2017 and was last updated on January 27, 2017. This news story is related to Print/182038-Freezing-weather-kills-27-Afghan-children/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Freezing weather kills 27 Afghan children" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/182038-Freezing-weather-kills-27-Afghan-children. </s> An Afghan man walks with his grandson on a snowy day on outskirts of Kabul January 15, 2017. Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children in Afghanistan. — Reuters picMAZAR-I-SHARIF (Afghanistan), Jan 26 — Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in a remote district in northern Afghanistan, officials said today, with fears the toll could rise.

Roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan province were blocked by 50 centimetres of snow, cutting off access for villagers in the area to medical care as temperatures plunged to -10 degrees Celsius.

“Unfortunately we have 27 children killed due to heavy snowfall and freezing weather,” district governor Rahmatullah Hashar told AFP, saying the deaths had occurred over the last two or three days.

All the children were under the age of five, he said, adding the blocked roads mean the toll could still increase.

The deaths were confirmed by the Jawzjan provincial governor’s spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, who said aid would be delivered via emergency committees.

Heavy snowfall and avalanches kill scores of people in Afghanistan each winter.

In 2015, avalanches killed some 300 people across the country, the bulk of them in the mountainous province of Panjshir, north of Kabul.

Rescue efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods, which often hit as snows melt in the spring, are frequently hampered by lack of equipment.

Poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescue teams to reach isolated areas. — AFP </s> Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in a remote district in northern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday fearing that the toll could rise.

Roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan province were blocked by 50 centimetres (20 inches) of snow, cutting off access for villagers in the area to medical care as temperatures plunged to -10 degrees Celsius.

District governor Rahmatullah Hashar said the deaths had occurred over the last two or three days. All the children were under the age of five, he said, adding the blocked roads mean the toll could still increase.

The deaths were confirmed by the Jawzjan provincial governor’s spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, who said aid will be delivered via emergency committees.

Heavy snowfall and avalanches kill scores of people in Afghanistan every winter.

In 2015, avalanches killed around 300 people across the country -- mostly in the mountainous province of Panjshir, north of Kabul.

Rescue efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods, which often hit as snows melt in the spring, are frequently hampered by lack of equipment. Poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescue teams to reach isolated areas. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Cold weather and freezing temperatures that engulfed a remote northern province in Afghanistan this week killed at least 20 people, all of them internally displaced and including several children, Afghan officials said Friday.

The deaths occurred in Jawzjan province’s district of Darzab, which has seen heavy snowfall, with half a meter, or almost two feet of snow on the ground, according to provincial police chief Rahmatullah Turkistani.

The area in the remote province, which borders Turkmenistan, has no electricity or medical facilities and the road linking it with the provincial capital of Shibirghan has been cut off by the Taliban. Authorities are waiting for the weather to clear up before delivering aid by air, said

Jawzjan governor, Lutfullah Azizi, said early reports indicate that at least five children were among those who died from the cold weather, adding that there are fears of a higher death toll. Azizi called on the local population to offer shelter to the displaced in Jawzjan, where up to 500 have sought refuge from fighting in nearby Sari Pul province, where the Taliban have increased their footprint in recent months.

Elsewhere, a roadside bombing on Friday in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killed a policeman and wounded three civilians.

And the previous night, a mortar shell struck a weeding party in Laghman province, also in the country’s east, killing a child and wounding six people, according to Sarhadi Zwak, the spokesman for the governor of Laghman.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for those attacks. The Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has emerged over the past two years and established a presence in parts of eastern Afghanistan, including Nangarhar. </s> Al Jazeera: At least 25 people have been killed by snowstorms and avalanches in northern Afghanistan, more than a week after more than 100 people died due to heavy snowfall across the country, according to an official. Northern Faryab province bore the brunt of freezing temperatures and heavy snow on Sunday. Click here to read more (external link). </s> Ten soldiers were killed while several others are missing after two avalanches in Gurez Sector of Kashmir, an army official said on Thursday.

 An avalanche hit an army camp in Gurez sector of Bandipora district near the Line of Control last evening in which several soldiers were trapped, the army official said.

 He said rescue operations were launched and seven soldiers including a Junior Commissioned Officer were saved. “Bodies of three soldiers were retrieved his morning,” he said.

 The official said another avalanche hit a patrol party which was on its way to a post in Gurez sector last evening.

 “Rescue teams were able to retrieve three bodies from the spot of the incident while some soldiers are still missing,” Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

 He said the exact number of missing soldiers was not yet known as heavy snowfall was hampering ongoing operations.

 On Wednesday, an officer was killed in an avalanche at Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district while four members of a family died in another avalanche in Gurez sector.

 Authorities have issued a high danger avalanche warning in hilly parts of snow-bound Kashmir valley in view of fresh snowfall which has been going on intermittently for past three days.

 Meanwhile, heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in a remote district in northern Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, with fears the toll could rise.

 Roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan province were blocked by 50 centimetres of snow, cutting off access for villagers in the area to medical care as temperatures plunged to -10 degrees Celsius.

 “Unfortunately we have 27 children killed due to heavy snowfall and freezing weather,” district governor Rahmatullah Hashar told media, saying the deaths had occurred over the last two or three days.—Agencies </s> At least 25 people have been killed by snowstorms and avalanches in northern Afghanistan, more than a week after more than 100 people died due to heavy snowfall across the country, according to an official.

Northern Faryab province bore the brunt of freezing temperatures and heavy snow on Sunday.

Ammanullah Zafar, director for security in Faryab, told Anadolu news agency that Kohistan district was the worst hit.

"We can confirm that 25 people have died in this unprecedented heavy snow," he said.

READ MORE: Scores dead in heavy snowfall in Afghanistan, Pakistan

Zafar said police along with National Disasters Management Authority teams were trying hard with their limited resources to save the lives of several residents in the area, particularly the stranded passengers on the inter-district highways and the people stuck up in the mountains.

"We have received reports about people missing from Pashtoonkot, Andkhoy, Qurmkul, Balcheragh and Dawlat Abad districts; efforts are under way to locate and rescue people," Zafar said.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans, particularly the internally displaced persons and the recently repatriated refugees from Pakistan, remain vulnerable to the harsh winter in the country that relies heavily on aid.

On February 6, Afghanistan's northeastern Nuristan province was hit hardest by heavy snowfall and avalanches that wreaked havoc and claimed about 106 lives in the region, officials said.

Dozens of houses were destroyed and some of the victims had reportedly frozen to death.

"Avalanches have buried two entire villages," a spokesperson for the ministry of state natural disasters told the AFP news agency of the Barg Matal area in Nuristan.

At least 13 people were also killed by the disasters in the Pakistani town of Chitral.

Neighbouring Pakistan has seen a lesser death toll. </s> Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall have killed at least 20 people, mostly children, this week in a remote northern province in Afghanistan, local officials say.

The deaths occurred in the rural Darzab district of the Jawzjan Province, district Governor Rahmatullah Hashar told RFE/RL on November 25.

Hashar said all the victims were internally displaced people who had left their villages in neighboring regions due to violence and a lack of security.

Hashar and local officials said some 100 families were currently living in harsh conditions in “mosques and open spaces” in remote mountainous areas, with no access to medical facilities.

Darzab officials say the road linking the area with the provincial capital, Sheberghan, has been cut off by the Taliban. Authorities say they are waiting for the weather to clear up before delivering aid by air.

Provincial Governor Lutfullah Azizi has called on the local residents to offer shelter to the displaced in Jawzjan.

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Two to three days of freezing weather and heavy snow kills at least 27 children in Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan.