Avalanches kill 18 people in Tajikistan

As a result of avalanches in Tajikistan, as of the evening of February 17, 18 people died, Umeda Yusufi, head of the press center of the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES), said.

“By the evening of February 17, the body of a girl was removed from under a snow block in Khorog, the administrative center of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Currently, the search for another girl is underway. They were students from the Ishkashim region who studied in Khorog,” Yusufi said, Interfax reports.

On Friday morning, 17 people were reported dead.

On the instructions of President Emomali Rakhmon, a state commission on the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters was created from among the responsible officials of the government of the republic and the first heads of a number of ministries and committees.

The president instructed the members of the commission to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters as soon as possible and provide financial assistance to the affected families from the government, deliver them food, warm clothes and other necessary household items.