Afghanistan avalanche kills 28

At least 28 people have died and hundreds left trapped after avalanches closed a mountain highway tunnel in Northern Afghanistan. Passengers trapped in the Salang pass, the main route across the Hindu Kush mountains, said they were left freezing to death and suffocated by car fumes. They also reported to have seen cars filled with dead bodies.

The head of Afghanistan's National Disaster and Preparedness Centre said that the greatest fears were for passengers stuck in cars exposed to the extreme cold. Emergency workers had managed to evacuate 1,500 people who were trapped, including at least 70 injured, the Defence Ministry said. Days of heavy snow triggered avalanches blocking the 1.6 mile long Soviet-built tunnel, a historic engineering feat that links Kabul and Afghanistan's north. President Hamid Karzai said he was saddened by the deaths and ordered government workers to do everything possible to open the pass. NYT: Afghan Avalanches Kill Dozens, Trap Hundreds.