ANKARA

At least 15 were people killed when an avalanche hit the mountainous eastern parts of Afghanistan, official media reported on Monday.

According to local officials in the Kunar province bordering Pakistan, 20 people were trapped under the snow in the avalanche, Bakhtar News Agency said. The bodies of 15 people were found, while five others are still missing.

The incident occurred in the Dangam district, a mountainous area located southwest of the provincial capital Asadabad.

The officials said that rescue teams in the area were working to remove the snow and recover the missing people. They were also shifting people to safe places.

In 2017, at least 13 people were killed, including women and children, in avalanches in Kunar’s Chapa Dara district.