Pakistani military resumes search for avalanche survivors

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Pakistani military on Sunday, April 8 resumed desperate efforts to find survivors after an avalanche engulfed an army camp high in the mountains of Kashmir, leaving up to 135 people feared dead, AFP reported.

The increasingly frantic search on the Siachen Glacier, where Pakistani and Indian troops face off on what is known as the world's highest battlefield, was called off for the night late on Saturday because of darkness and poor weather.

More than 24 hours after the avalanche hit, a team of 150 soldiers, aided by sniffer dogs and helicopters, is yet to find a single body or survivor in the deeply inhospitable and remote region.

"No recovery has been made so far," a military official said, adding that heavy machinery had been sent in and the rescue effort was in full swing.

The military said in a statement overnight that 135 people were missing from the camp, including 124 soldiers, after the avalanche smothered an area of one-square kilometre (a third of a square mile) early on Saturday.

The avalanche struck between 5:00am and 6:00am, security officials said, raising the possibility that some of those buried were asleep at the time.