Post by Tulameen on Feb 17, 2005 11:28:35 GMT -5
Hundreds die in Afghan cold snap
Heavy snow has caused many homes to collapse
Severe winter weather has claimed more than 260 lives in recent weeks and affected thousands of others across Afghanistan, officials have said.
Many of the dead are said to be children under the age of five.
Aid officials say they are struggling to get food and medical supplies to some of the worst affected areas in central Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, an Afghan airliners crashed into a mountain when it flew into a snowstorm.
All 104 people on board died.
Afghan Public Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimie says most of the children who died were suffering from respiratory infections, pneumonia and whooping cough caused by the intense cold.
"We can confirm some 105 people, mainly children, died of diseases throughout the country in the past month," he told the AFP news agency.
More than 160 others are said to have been killed in avalanches, and accidents caused by heavy snowfall.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4273955.stm
Heavy snow has caused many homes to collapse
Severe winter weather has claimed more than 260 lives in recent weeks and affected thousands of others across Afghanistan, officials have said.
Many of the dead are said to be children under the age of five.
Aid officials say they are struggling to get food and medical supplies to some of the worst affected areas in central Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, an Afghan airliners crashed into a mountain when it flew into a snowstorm.
All 104 people on board died.
Afghan Public Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimie says most of the children who died were suffering from respiratory infections, pneumonia and whooping cough caused by the intense cold.
"We can confirm some 105 people, mainly children, died of diseases throughout the country in the past month," he told the AFP news agency.
More than 160 others are said to have been killed in avalanches, and accidents caused by heavy snowfall.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4273955.stm