KABUL: An Afghan official says the death toll from a weekend avalanche that buried an entire village in the northeast of the country has risen to 47 killed.

Sunday's avalanche swallowed a village of 200 people in the Shekay district of  Badakhshan province late on Monday after days of heavy snowfall were followed by a warmer temperature according to a provincial spokesperson Abdul Rauf Rasekh.

Rescuers are digging through the snow looking for survivors and the bodies of the dead.

Mohammad Daim Kakar said Wednesday that rescuers hope some people are still alive, inside buried houses, but at least 47 deaths have been confirmed. He is the general director of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority.

Authorities had previously reported 37 deaths from the avalanche in Dasty village.