KHOROG, February 19, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- An avalanche has killed one person in Gorno Badakhshan.

The GBAO emergencies official Nourali Khailobekov told Asia-Plus that they received information Wednesday (February 17) evening that resident of the village of Gozhak in the Shugnan district, Furqat Shoguniyev, went to the mountains Wednesday morning and has not yet returned.  “A group of rescuers from the GBAO emergency management agency were sent to the area and the body of Furqat Shoguniyev was found under the snow Thursday (February 18) morning not far from the village,” said Khailobekov.  “An avalanche buried him.”

Shoguniyev is already the second victim f avalanches in the area.

We will recall that resident of the Vahdat district, some 17 kilometers to the east of Dushanbe, Sherali Yusupov, who was carrying cargo to Gorno Badakhshan, was killed on February 5 as an avalanche caused by heavy snowfall hit the Barzhir area in the Shugnan district.  A heavy truck KAMAZ was trapped under snow as the avalanche hit the area; the driver, Sherali Yusupov, was killed while trying to jump out of the truck.  His passenger -- local woman, who remained in the vehicle – survived.

In the meantime, roads from Khorog to Ishkashim and Murgab districts as well as to Dushanbe have been cleared of snow.

“It has been freezing quite hard for already two weeks in the region that gives hope that avalanches will not occur in the next few days,” the GBAO emergencies officials noted.