6 avalanches brought down along trans-caucasian motor-road

On Saturday, the avalanche control service brought down six snow avalanches along the Trans-Caucasian motor-road, one of the two major transport arteries running across the Central Caucasus Ridge.

A spokesperson for the North Ossetian division of the Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti that all six slide-downs had been enforced along a kilometer-long stretch of the thoroughfare linking Russia with the Transcaucasia.

The avalanche control workers used a WWII anti-aircraft gun in the avalanche slide-down operation. They made ten shots.

At present, the road is closed for traffic by a special decree issued by the Government of Northern Ossetia on 29 October. Snow-fighting vehicles are working on the site to remove the snow.

According to Northern Ossetia's weather forecasting bureau, the current weather conditions are favourable for the road workers - the two-day-long snowfall in the mountains had stopped.

There is a possibility that traffic on the road might be back to norm as early as tonight.