Avalanche claims 10 lives in N Afghan province

"The incident happened in Barghut village, Mahami district late Friday night. The initial information found 10 people, including women and children, were killed and 12 others wounded," Sayyed Abdullah Dehqan, director of provincial Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, told Xinhua.

The number of the causalities may further rise as the natural disaster also destroyed 18 houses in the remote village, the official said, adding that "a rescue team has been dispatched to the area to help and provide assistance for the affected villagers."

The mountainous province, some 315 km northeast of national capital of Kabul, has received heavy snowfalls over the past weeks.