Snow slides kill 12, including 6 Pakistani soldiers

Rescue teams have found the bodies of 12 people, including six Pakistani soldiers, who were buried by snow slides along the Line of Control, a military spokesman said today.

A snow slide in the Sharda or Kel sector of the LoC killed three Pakistani soldiers yesterday, and eight soldiers and 10 civilians sent to rescue them went missing after being hit by a second snow slide.

The bodies of six soldiers, including an officer, and six civilians were dug out of the snow by search and rescue teams today, the military spokesman said.

The search for the remaining missing persons was continuing. Rescue efforts were being hampered by bad weather, officials in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir said.

The snow slides had occurred in a region located 130 km from Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.

In April, about 140 soldiers and civilians were buried when an avalanche hit a Pakistan Army base near the Siachen glacier.

More than 120 bodies have been found so far and a search is continuing for the rest.