KABUL:At least 26 people were killed and more than 100 were missing after flash floods hit a wedding party in northern Afghanistan, an official said Monday.

Most of the victims were women and children as the floods, caused by heavy rains, swept through three villages in Deh Mardan district of Sari Pul province, he said.

“We have found 26 bodies mostly women and children -- and over 100 others are still missing,” Fazlullah Sadat, head of the provincial disaster management authority, told AFP.

“This is a human tragedy. We have a lot of human losses,” said Sadat.

Rescue teams had been dispatched to search for the missing he said, adding that the floods also swept away livestock and swamped agricultural lands.

Afghanistan's harshest winter in 15 years saw unusually heavy snowfalls, and experts had predicted that melting snow would likely cause floods in the mountainous north in the spring.

In March, the UN humanitarian office for Afghanistan said at least 145 people were missing and “presumed dead” after an avalanche hit a remote village in northeastern Badakhshan province.