Three soldiers have died after avalanches struck a high-altitude army post in Indian-administered Kashmir, an officer said Friday, after heavy snowfall in the disputed Himalayan region.

Multiple avalanches hit a post in Batalik near the Line of Control -- the de-facto border that divides Kashmir -- on Thursday, burying five soldiers, an army spokesman said.

"We launched rescue operations and two were rescued alive. But this morning three bodies were retrieved from under the snow," Rajesh Kalia told AFP.

Dozens of Indian and Pakistani soldiers are killed by avalanches almost every winter along the LoC.

This winter has been particularly harsh, and in January avalanches killed dozens of people including Indian soldiers and civilians.

Lower altitude areas have suffered heavy rains, prompting authorities to shut schools until Sunday and close the region's main highway over landslide fears.

In the main city of Srinagar, which suffered devastating floods in 2014, shopkeepers were moving their stocks on Thursday as a precaution.

Officials said water levels began to recede on Friday after a halt in the rain.

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Seven students, one teacher killed in Japan avalanche
Tokyo (AFP) March 27, 2017
An avalanche Monday killed seven Japanese high school students and a teacher on a mountain-climbing outing, and injured 40 more. More than 100 troops were deployed in a major rescue mission after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Television footage showed rescuers climbing the mountainside as ambulances stood by. A total of 52 students and 11 teachers f ... read more

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