Avalanche kills at least 19 on Pak-Afghan border

JALALABAD: At least 19 people were killed by an avalanche on Monday while crossing a remote mountain pass from Afghanistan to Pakistan, according to Taliban officials.

The incident happened in the province of Kunar, close to the border with Pakistan. An official from the province told German news agency dpa that the avalanche occurred on Sunday evening.

Najibullah Hassan Abdal, head of information for eastern Kunar province, asserted that rescue workers were still searching at the scene of the avalanche. “Nineteen bodies have been recovered already,” he added.

Scores of Afghans cross illegally to Pakistan every day through the porous mountain border in search of jobs or to buy essential goods.

Illegal traffic across the Pakistan-Afghan border has soared since the Taliban returned to power in August, plunging the country into a severe crisis with tens of thousands of people made jobless.

Traders and smugglers have for centuries used well-trodden remote mountain passes to cross the territories and avoid paying taxes. In 2015 more than 250 people were killed across the country in a series of devastating avalanches.

Pakistan is attempting to fence the entire 2,670-kilometre (1,660 miles) frontier, known as the Durand line for the British colonial administrator who first drew it.

Snowfall this year has closed many routes, especially in less developed regions. Afghanistan is already experiencing a humanitarian crisis as the loss of aid and the imposition of sanctions since the Taliban took power have taken their toll.