World Bulletin / News Desk

Authorities in Tajikistan said Monday that at least seven people were killed in a series of avalanches that hit the mountainous Central Asian country over the weekend.

Avalanches killed at least five people on a highway linking the capital Dushanbe with Khujand, Tajikistan's second largest city, the emergency services committee said. 

Authorities said a rescue operation was ongoing and the casualty toll could continue to rise. 

A spokesperson for the committee told AFP around 800 people had been evacuated Sunday following the avalanches.

Mountainous and poverty-struck Tajikistan is prone to natural disasters including avalanches, landslides and earthquakes.

In February 2015, a single avalanche claimed six lives in the east of the country.