DUSHANBE, December 22 (RIA Novosti) - Tajikistan's emergencies official said the bodies of two people have so far been recovered after a series of avalanches in the mountains on Saturday, dismissing earlier reports on the death of at least 16 people.
The avalanches hit a 12-kilometer (7.4-mile) section of a road linking the Central Asian state's capital Dushanbe and the city of Khudzhand .
Andrei Pilkevich, who leads a rescue team, said over the phone: "I am at the site and I do not know where they got those figures from. Two bodies have been discovered, and one of them identified."
Pilkevich said over a dozen cars have been recovered from snow and it is not clear how many people and cars were still trapped at the site. He said snow is in some places 6 meters thick (19.6 feet). He also said local residents are helping emergency workers in the clear-up and rescue effort.
