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At least 17 Indian soldiers were killed when an avalanche smashed into a military training camp near the country's disputed border with Pakistan, security officials said.
The avalanche hit the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School in northwest Kashmir, a rugged area at an altitude of 2,730 meters (9,000 feet) near a military line that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.
Army spokesman Col. Vineet Sood said more than 80 soldiers had been rescued. "We have called off search and rescue operations as no one is missing or trapped now," he said.
The avalanche occurred in the Khilanmarg area near Gulmarg, a ski resort visited by thousands of people, including some foreigners, every winter.
Officials said there was little chance of any tourist having been trapped as the avalanche was triggered at an altitude higher than the popular skiing slopes.
Police said 17 soldiers were in a critical condition.
The government weather forecaster said snow and sleet would continue to hit the Kashmir mountains for the next two days. They have issued a fresh avalanche warning in Kashmir where avalanches occur frequently.
Thousands of Indian soldiers are deployed along the military line, or Line of Control (LoC), to guard a disputed border and prevent militant incursions into the Indian side from Pakistani Kashmir.
Troops are fighting a 20-year-old anti-India insurgency in Kashmir where tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989.
Heavy snow blocked Kashmir's main highway, the only road link to the rest of the country, for the third day on Monday.
