Two border guards were killed as they were driving a snowplough over a mountain road in the Nazran region in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. A third man survived, reported Ria Novosti.

Meanwhile, rescue teams found eight border guards who had gone missing during a supply trip in Northern Ossetia, but one of them had already succumbed to the cold, the Itar-Tass agency said.

More than 20 avalanches were recorded in less than 24 hours in the Russian republic bordering Georgia.