**Officials in Afghanistan say they fear the number of people killed in an avalanche in the north-east of the country could continue to rise.**At least 166 people were killed by snow falling off mountains in the Salang Pass north of Kabul, triggering a massive rescue operation.
The authorities say that they expect to find more bodies as they wind down the rescue operation.
The area has been hit by more than 12 avalanches since Monday.
Correspondents say that it has been one of the country’s worst natural disasters.
Freezing conditions
The ferocity of the avalanches was so great that windows of cars and buses were smashed while some tumbled into the valley below, officials say.
Many of the dead were killed as their vehicles plunged down the mountainsides, while others perished in the freezing conditions.
Rescuers are using bulldozers, pick axes and shovels in the search for survivors.
The highway that winds through the mountainside remains littered with abandoned or snow-packed cars.
Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said that scores more vehicles remain buried beneath massive snow floes and they could contain more bodies.
“The latest information we have is that 166 people were killed and 125 others have been rescued and taken to hospital,” he told the AFP news agency.
"We’re not clear yet on how many cars are still under the snow, but police have been working on recovery since yesterday and are hoping to bring the operation to an end soon.
DEADLY AVALANCHES
- February 19-20 2005: At least 250 people killed in avalanches after heavy snowfall in Indian-administered Kashmir
- January 16 1995: At least 200 people killed in avalanches in Indian-administered Kashmir triggered by a snow storm and strong winds
- September 20 2002: At least 125 people killed when the Kolka glacier collapses on the village of Nijni Karmadon in North Ossetia, Russia
- March 24 1996: 56 people killed when avalanche hits main road between Tibet and Sichuan in China
- February 23 1999: Avalanche hits Austrian village of Galtur, killing 31 people
Source: News agencies
Afghanistan’s dangerous lifeline](http://www.paklinks.com/2/low/south_asia/8507815.stm)
In pictures: Afghan avalanches
“There is fear there will be more dead bodies in the vehicles that are being pulled out of the snow,” he said.
An army battalion backed up by heavy machinery and other digging equipment had been deployed to the pass for rescue and recovery work, a senior defence ministry official said.
He said that although the road has now been cleared, it remains closed to the public to allow for emergency efforts.
Rescuers are searching farther afield for victims in cars, trucks and buses that were pushed far off the road, officials say.
Some 2,500 people have been rescued so far.
The area is often affected by heavy snow and has been hit by avalanches in the past, the BBC’s Martin Patience says from Kabul.
The road through the Salang Pass is the only major route over the Hindu Kush mountains linking southern Afghanistan to the north and Central Asia that remains open throughout the year.
Reaching 3,400m (11,000 ft) at the pass, the road is one of the highest in the world. It was finished in the 1960s with Soviet help.