Afghan avalanche death toll passes 220

GHASHA VILLAGE, PANJSHIR, Afghanistan - "It would have been better if God had hit us with a rocket rather than this snow," said an angry elderly man as he walked past the destruction caused by avalanches in Afghanistan's Panjshir province. It's a poignant statement coming from a man whose country still sees more than its fair share of rocket fire.

Forty-eight hours of unprecedented snowfall left the entire region blanketed in white, and claimed the lives of more than 200 people. Roads connecting about 20 valleys in the area were cut, making it difficult to help those trapped and find those for whom it was already too late.

On top of Ghasha valley, in central Panjshir, 100 villagers worked around the clock, digging with shovels and their hands to try and rescue Faqir and his two children Sifatullah, 7, and Bibi Hawa, 3.

The villagers worried not only about how they're going to move the tons of snow with such inadequate hardware, but also about their own safety; the village is surrounded by four high, still-snow-covered mountains, and avalanches have been the real killer here.

"The possibility of more avalanches is very high, and they could hit at anytime. We have distributed teams to watch the mountains and alert us if they see more avalanches coming," Khalid, a villager, told CBS News. "We don't have much, using old earth-movers and shovels which seem nearly impossible for the task. But we are trying our best... so we won't regret that we didn't do more."

The avalanches have killed at least 229 people this week, according to the United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Most of them died in the hard-hit areas of Panjshir and Parwan province, about 100 miles north of Kabul.

Many of the dead were women and children. Many were either completely buried under snow, or crushed under its weight.

Authorities blocked Salang pass, the main tunnel that connects Kabul to the north of the county, at the beginning of the week, fearing more avalanches, and officials feared the death toll was likely to continue rising as rescue teams were still struggling to reach the affected areas.

Hundreds of people attended a mass funeral for 32 victims on Friday, and more funerals were scheduled for the coming days.

Faqir, a shepherd who fled the dangerous neighboring province of Nuristan two years ago. The Taliban has been more active there. He was speaking with his friend Abdul Munir when the avalanche hit his house.

Munir rescued Faqir's two wives and six of his children.

"Faqir and I were just talking about his animals, and then I asked him if he could make me a cup of tea. Suddenly I heard a scream from the outside and we rushed out," said Munir. "After I saw the avalanche, I grabbed six of Faqir's children and his two wives. Faqir went to the other room to find his two other children and he never came back. The house was entirely engulfed in snow."

Faqir's parents were rescued on Wednesday, and one of his wives gave birth to a baby boy -- all while he and his two children remained buried.

Avalanches are common in Panjshir and several other provinces of Afghanistan, but after an unusually dry winter, the more than six feet of snow that fell on Tuesday took everyone by surprise. Villagers can't recall a snowfall like this one in recent memory.

"I have never witnessed such snowfall in my life," exclaimed Karam Khan, 70, who has spent most of his time in this village. "Although avalanches are common in Panjshir, we still don't have the proper machinery and equipment to clear the roads, so we haven't been able to attempt rescues in a timely fashion," deputy provincial governor Abdul Khabir Bakhshi told CBS News.

President Ashraf Ghani, the nation's chief executive Abdullah Abdullah and other high-ranking Afghan officials have visited Panjshir this week and promised assistance to the people affected by avalanches.

The government declared a three-day national mourning, beginning Saturday, for the victims of avalanches across the country.

After three days of digging by hand and shovel, the frozen bodies of Faqir and his two children were recovered late Thursday evening.