An avalanche covered Sherin Nazam village in Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan Sunday night causing over 140 people to be considered missing, and 39 confirmed dead.
"The entire village was hit," Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the northern regional police, said in the Los Angeles Times. Many people are believed to be buried in their homes.
The first to arrive to the scene were people from a nearby village. They were joined on Tuesday by rescue workers from Darwaz district, who walked for two days to reach the isolated area, the New York Times said.
USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance is planning to send supplies to the area. Tents and plastic sheeting will be sent through a partner in Tajikistan to assist people in the area, the New York Times said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, avalanches are most common during the end of winter and early spring due to the warmer weather. In February 2010, an avalanche killed nearly 200 people, trapping many in their cars and sending other vehicles over the edge of a cliff.
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