Avalanche kills a Russian skier while 5 others are rescued at a resort in Indian-held Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — A Russian skier was killed and five others were rescued, along with their local guide, after an avalanche hit a popular Himalayan ski resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.

The officials said that at least six Russian skiers and their local guide were hit by the avalanche and buried in snow high in the mountains of the tourist town of Gulmarg. Rescuers pulled six survivors from the snow. Officials did not immediately identify the dead Russian skier.

Gulmarg is nestled in 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 militarized Line of Control on the mountainous and forested frontier that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals.

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

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