Nearly 1,000 trucks stranded as three metres of snow close Argentina-Chile border

Heavy snowfall in the Argentine Andes has forced about 110 people to evacuate, left nearly 1,000 trucks waiting on snow-covered roads and closed several border crossings into Chile.

Truck drivers said they had been stranded for up to eight days after more than three metres of snow blocked roads and closed the Puente del Inca crossing in Mendoza province.

The key mountain crossing connects Argentina and Chile.

Deputy local police commissioner Oscar Fernandez said the weather eased over the weekend, allowing authorities to reach the Puente del Inca border outpost.

He said snow on roofs in the area was almost two metres deep.

Fernandez warned that another storm was expected on Wednesday and that conditions in the high mountains could deteriorate again.

In Uspallata, about 90 kilometres from Puente del Inca, nearly 1,000 trucks were waiting for conditions to improve so they could cross into Chile.

Mendoza deputy logistics minister Alberto Marengo said clearing the backlog would take five or six days even after the crossing reopened.

Several other border crossings were closed in Catamarca, Rio Negro, Neuquen and Chubut provinces.

The airport in the Rio Negro tourist town of Bariloche also closed because of the storm on Monday.

Hundreds of passengers had their flights rerouted to nearby Neuquen province