KABUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Four persons were killed and 18 others injured after the roof of their house collapsed in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Asif Waziri said Tuesday.
The incident took place late on Monday in the mountainous Qoriq village of Charkent district, killing four members of the family including two children, and injuring 18 others including women and children, with some in critical condition, the official said.
In a similar incident, three children were killed and six others including the victims' parents injured after the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy snowfall in Shigal district of eastern Kunar province on Sunday, a provincial government official Ehsanullah Ehsan has confirmed.
People in war-torn Afghanistan's rural areas are mostly living in mud houses, which are vulnerable to snowfall, heavy rain and natural disasters in general. ■