Officials in Afghanistan have announced that 157 people have been killed from a series of avalanches at the Salang Pass which is a key road that connects the Afghan capital with the north.

A series of avalanches that hit the Salang Pass which is between 12,700-feet-high mountains berried hundreds of vehicles making it impossible for people to get out with freezing temperatures and thousands of tons on top of them.

It is expected that more bodies will be found in the un-dug areas of the road. The avalanches had started on Monday.

It has been reported that some of the bodies found were frozen in their vehicles and others were found on the side of the road.

In a press conference, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashar said that 1.5 miles of the road has been cleared from the snow but there is still a further 0.6 miles of road to be cleared.

over 400 police officers and 100 local volunteers have been trying to search for survivors for the past 24 hours. search-and-rescue teams reached dozens more of the stranded this morning.

2,600 people have been saved so far and with the help of the 500 strong Afghan soldiers also mobilized for search and rescue, it is hoped that more survivors will be found with the freezing cold temperatures and time working against rescue works.

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