DUSHANBE, March 16, 2012, Asia-Plus — Avalanches that hit a road connecting Dushanbe and the northern city of Khujand left two dead on March 15, Orif Nizomov, a spokesman for the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES), said.
According to him, the fatal avalanches occurred on the 79th and 83rd kilometers of the highway. “The bodies of the 66-year-old resident of the Varzob district and the 20-year-old resident of the Ayni district were dug out Friday morning,” Nizomov said.
The avalanches have reportedly occurred after several days of heavy snowfall and the Dushanbe-Khujand highway is still closed for traffic due to the risk of further avalanches.
Innovative Road Solutions (IRS), which operates this toll road from the Tajik capital to Chanak on the Uzbek border, is continuing work on clearing the highway of snow.
We will recall that an employee of IRS was caught in an avalanche on the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway on March 13. Niyozqul Qulov had been clearing the road of snow with excavator operator A. Jumayev when they were hit by a wave of snow. Jumayev who was inside the excavator was not injured, while Qulov was reportedly swept by the avalanche into precipice. His body has not yet been found.
Meanwhile, a snow avalanche that occurred in Gorno Badakhshan today morning blocked a road connecting Khorog with the Murgab district. One more avalanche occurred on the night of March 15-16 hitting the road from Labi Jar to Tabivildara in eastern Tajikistan.
It is to be noted that warmer temperatures have increased the risk of further avalanches in mountain areas, where dozens of snow-slides have occurred over the past two weeks.
