Several groups of people were trying to cross the border when the snowfall started. “Nineteen bodies have been discovered so far,” and rescuers are currently searching for other victims and possible survivors, a local Taliban official said.
At least 19 people died Monday in an avalanche trying to cross a mountain pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a local Taliban official said. Several groups of people were trying to cross the border when the snowfall started, Najibullah Hassan Abdal, director of information and culture for Kunar province (eastern Afghanistan) told AFP. ). “Nineteen bodies have been discovered so far,” and rescuers are currently searching for other victims and possible survivors, he added.
More and more attempts
Many Afghans try to cross the mountainous border with Pakistan every day, in search of jobs or essential products for trade. The number of attempts has greatly increased since the country was mired in a deep humanitarian crisis after the Taliban returned to power in August. The coffers of the country are almost empty, after the cessation of international aid, which represented approximately 75% of the national budget, and the freezing of billions of Afghan assets held abroad. Unemployment has skyrocketed and many civil servants have not been paid for months.
Soon a fence between the two countries
Pakistan is currently completing the construction of a fence to protect its porous 2,670 km border with Afghanistan, which follows the Durand Line, drawn by the former British colonial administration. Merchants and smugglers have used the mountainous paths between the two countries for centuries to pass from one to the other without paying taxes. And this despite the dangers, in this region where avalanches are commonplace. In 2015, more than 250 people perished in a series of deadly avalanches in Afghanistan.