A young girl has been pulled out alive after her house was hit by an avalanche that killed nine members of her family, including her parents, in southern Kosovo.
Rescuers found the girl buried beneath 10 metres of snow after hearing her screams and a ringing mobile phone, Associated Press reports.
Excited emergency services workers and volunteers cheered as the five-year-old emerged from the rubble of her home in Restelica, a remote village near the Macedonian border, before she was rushed to hospital.
The girl, identified as Asmira Reka, is recovering in hospital in nearby town Prizren.
She was submerged in snow for more than 10 hours.
Osman Qerreti, an emergency official at the scene, said the avalanche destroyed seven homes at the village, two of which were inhabited.
Villagers dug frantically with shovels amid a heavy snowstorm and subfreezing temperatures in a desperate attempt to save any survivors.
"No bigger tragedy has ever struck this region," said local district official Behar Ramadani.
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