Rescuers have recovered 15 bodies after an avalanche in eastern Afghanistan, state-run news agency Bakhtar reported on Monday.

The incident happened in the province of Kunar, close to the border with Pakistan. An official from the province told German news agency dpa that the avalanche occurred on Sunday evening.

Officials reported that 20 people had been hit by the avalanche, with several still missing.

Remote border crossing

A Taliban official told AFP that the victims had been caught by the snow in a remote mountain pass while trying to get into Pakistan.

The province official said that some of those killed had been local villagers who had also become trapped after trying to help.

Rescue workers were still searching for more bodies.

The movement of people across the largely porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border is continuous, often with Afghans crossing to look for jobs or to buy goods.

Pakistan is trying to build a fence along the 2,670-kilometer (1,660-mile) border to stem to flow of migrants.

Heavy snowfall

Passes in the mountainous terrain prove difficult to police. But they also bring their own risks with such avalanches occurring regularly.

In 2015, some 250 people were killed in deadly avalanches. Last month five people were killed during heavy snowfall in the Badakhshan province.

Snowfall this year has closed many routes, especially in less developed regions. The country is already experiencing a humanitarian crisis as the loss of aid and the imposition of sanctions since the Taliban took power have taken their toll.

ab/rt (dpa, AFP)