Police officer has been killed in a rescue operation for people buried by an avalanche on the highway connecting Tajikistan’s two largest cities, Dushanbe and Khujand, raising the avalanche death toll to eight.

According to the Interior Ministry’s website, the tragedy took place in the Maikhoura area of Varzob district on January 30.

Sergeant Major Kayumars Gulmadov and Senior Sergeant Loiq Fayzali were reportedly assisting to rescue people buried by an avalanche when another avalanche hit the area.

Rescuers managed to pull out Loiq Fayzali while the body of Kayumars Gulmad was found only the next day, the website said.  

Thus, at least eight people were killed in Tajikistan after a series of avalanches hit the country over a couple of days.  Six people were killed by avalanches that hit the road connecting Dushanbe and Khujand, the capital of the northern Sughd province, and two others by avalanches that occurred in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).

More than 200 vehicles were trapped by avalanches on the road connecting Dushanbe and Khujand.  Some 800 people stranded in their cars were rescued on January 28.

Mountains cover 93 percent of Tajikistan, and avalanches and mudslides kill dozens of people every year.

Tajikistan has appealed to diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited to Tajikistan for help in mitigating effects of recent natural disasters.