1 foreign skier killed and 3 rescued after avalanche hits popular ski resort in Indian-held Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A foreign skier was killed and three others were rescued after an avalanche hit a popular Himalayan ski resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.

At least four foreign skiers and their local guide were hit by an avalanche and buried in snow when they were skiing high in the mountains of the tourist town of Gulmarg, officials said. One remained missing.

Rescuers pulled three survivors from the snow. Officials were yet to identify the dead skier’s name and nationality.

Gulmarg is nestled by the Pirpanjal mountain range in the western Himalayas and has one of Asia’s largest ski terrains, where thousands of domestic and international tourists visit.

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 militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals.

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

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