Cold kills hundreds in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India – Avalanches and extreme cold have killed at least 284 people in the divided Himalayan province of Kashmir, and about 150 others are missing on both sides, Indian and Pakistani officials said Tuesday.

Heavy snow has gripped the region since last week, temperatures have dropped to minus 34 and rescue workers are finding more bodies beneath the snow. Avalanches have closed roads throughout the region, cutting off Indian and Pakistani residents for the fifth straight day. Indians in one region were ordered to evacuate immediately.

In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, officials said at least 58 people have been killed by the freezing weather during the past two weeks, mostly by avalanches. In India-controlled Kashmir, at least 226 people have died since Friday from the weather, and the Indian air force flew in food and fuel to the affected areas.

India’s top military commander in the Kashmir valley ordered people living in the Pir Panjal mountains, south of Srinagar, where most avalanches have occurred, to immediately evacuate.

Early today, officials recovered the bodies of 40 people from their homes in the southern district of Anantnag, said Ashiq Bukhari, a senior police officer.

Soldiers and paramilitary troops trekked to remote villages in the Pir Panjal range and rescued more than 100 people stranded in houses completely covered by snow, Bukhari said.

The snow began falling in Indian Kashmir on Friday and the avalanches began Sunday night. Between Friday and Sunday, 41 people were killed. By Monday, another 113 bodies were found. On Tuesday, another 32 were discovered.