Two skiers are killed and 19 others buried under snow after getting caught in avalanche

Two Polish skiers have died and 19 others were buried under piles of snow after an avalanche swept through a Himalayan ski resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir today. 

A total of 21 foreigners and their two Kashmiri guides were caught in a massive avalanche and buried under the snow as they were skiing high in the mountains near the tourist town of Gulmarg, according to a police statement.

‘A massive rescue operation has been launched,’ Kashmir’s police chief Vijay Kumar said. ‘Two bodies have been recovered so far.’ 

Another 19 foreign nationals have been rescued by authorities, local police said on Twitter, adding that the bodies of the two deceased skiers have been shifted to a hospital. 

An ambulance leaves carrying the bodies of two foreigners who were killed in an avalanche in Gulmarg on Wednesday

The Pirpanjal mountain range in the western Himalayas is a popular skiing destination for both Indians and foreigners. 

In 2010, at least 17 Indian soldiers were killed after an avalanche hit the Indian army’s High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg during a training session.

Avalanches and landslides are common in Kashmir and have caused heavy death tolls for the Indian and Pakistani armies camped near the mountainous and forested militarised Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals.

In 2017, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in three avalanches, and in 2012 a massive avalanche in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir killed 140 people, including 129 Pakistani soldiers.