Afghanistan ? Heavy snow has claimed up to 61 lives in Afghanistan covering some regions of the country with over two meters of snow, national TV channels said on Friday.

Five days of incessant snow have cut off thousands of people living in isolated communities. People have also been killed in the mountainous country in avalanches and road accidents.

Late on Tuesday the country health officials called on health workers to remain on a state of alert, with 30,000 already sent to various Afghan provinces.

On Thursday, snow-hit Afghanistan requested that Iran cease deporting Afghan nationals during winter claiming it could lead to a humanitarian disaster since many of the migrants could end up living outside.

Northern Iran has also been hit by cold and snowy weather combined with gas supply shortages from neighboring Turkmenistan, which has cut exports to the Islamic Republic citing technical problems.