PANJAKENT, February 22, Asia-Plus  - The Shahriston avalanche death toll has risen to two.

Berdiboy Rahimberdiyev, the head of the Shahriston transportation directorate, told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon that resident of the Ayni district Ilhom Kholiqov was killed as his Toyota-Prado was buried by the avalanche that occurred on the Shahriston Pass Thursday evening.  Kholiqov worked as driver with Chinese company, which digs a tunnel under the Shahriston Pass.  

Since the highway is blocked by snow it is still impossible to extract the car and driver’s body buried under a bank of snow, Rahimberdiyev added.    

As it had been reported earlier, the avalanche that occurred on the Shahriston Pass, in the area where a camp of Chinese builders working on rehabilitation of the highway from Dushanbe to Uzbek border is located, Thursday evening left one dead and three injured.