A massive landslide in a remote province in north-eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 52 people.

The stricken area in Badakhshan province is cut off from the rest of the country, covered in snow and is only accessible from the air, significantly hampering any rescue efforts, said Shah Waliullah Adeeb, the provincial governor.

Badakhshan is one of the poorest and least-developed regions of Afghanistan. It regularly suffers huge landslides when snow begins to melt in the spring.

The deputy head of Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, Mohammad Islam Sayas, said initial reports suggest the avalanche struck only one village but it was likely to have been completely wiped out.

Badakhshan is in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges. Unchecked environmental degradation and deforestation across large parts of Afghanistan contribute to a growing problem of landslides when winter snows melt and seasonal rains begin.

In May 2014, a massive landslide in Badakhshan province killed some 350 people in a remote region there. Another Afghan landslide in 2012 killed 71 people.