Sixteen believed dead in Tajik avalanche

23 Dec, 2007 03:15 / Updated 16 years ago

Five bodies have been recovered and there are fears for eleven people believed to be trapped in their vehicles by snow following an avalanche on a mountain highway in Tajikistan.

Snow buried cars along part of the road connecting the capital, Dushanbe, and the country's second-largest city, Khudjand. Previously the highway was closed for the winter but was kept open this year after the completion of a new tunnel.