DUSHANBE, November 9, 2011, Asia-Plus — Rescuers have found the bodies of two residents of the Kuhistoni Mastchoh, Sughd province that have been killed by an avalanche on the Obburdon Pass.
Orifjon Nozimov, a spokesman for the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES), says two residents of the Kuhistoni Mastchoh district – Ismoil Nazirov, 48, and Mirzosharif Davlatov, 46 – with their livestock were killed by the avalanche in the Obburdon area on November 5. “The bodies of Orifjon Nozimov and Mirzosharif Davlatov were found on November 7,” Nozimov said.
According to him, the risk of new avalanches remains high in mountain areas and the main passes are still closed for traffic.
The unusually heavy snowfall has caused a series of avalanches in northern Tajikistan.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports some residents of villages in northern Tajikistan told it by phone that the situation is very serious. They say all roads leading to the important Shahriston Pass are blocked by snow. They also complain that the major state-run electricity provider, Barqi Tojik, has introduced electricity rationing. As a result, some villages have electricity only for 4-6 hours a day, mainly early in the morning and late in the evening.
