MORE THAN 160 KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN AVALANCHES

DARA, Afghanistan: The death toll from avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan rose to more than 160, officials said on Thursday (Friday in Manila), as rescue helicopters and trucks loaded with relief supplies struggled to reach victims in snow-logged mountain terrain. CNN placed the death toll at 168. Officials in Panjshir province, about 60 miles from the capital, Kabul, said some families were trapped in remote districts after three days of heavy snowfall. At least 40 people were reported injured, and officials said the toll could rise. At provincial offices in the capital of Panjshir, Bazarak, villager Bashir Osmani said 12 families comprising 87 people have been trapped in the district of Paryan for more than three days.
TNS WITH REPORT FROM CNN