Death toll rises to 28 in Afghan avalanche

Kabul: At least 28 people have died and more than 70 were injured after vehicles were trapped overnight by avalanches in a mountain tunnel in Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

The avalanches, after days of heavy snow, blocked the entrances to the 2.6km-long Salang tunnel, the main route connecting Kabul to north Afghanistan through a treacherous pass at 3,400 metres in the Hindu Kush mountains.