Avalanches sweep through Kashmir, killing dozens

MUZAFFARABAD, KASHMIR — At least 55 people have been killed and dozens injured as avalanches swept away homes in the mountainous region of the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir.

The powerful avalanches have also affected Indian-controlled areas of the disputed region, with at least 10 people killed on Tuesday, officials said.

At least three dozen children were struck by an avalanche as they made their way to school on Monday in the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan, officials said. One child was killed and three others injured.

Most of the casualties took place in the Neelum Valley, which abuts a river that divides the Pakistani and Indian portions of Kashmir.

Heavy rain and snowfall on Saturday triggered the avalanches, which rolled over villages perched on the steep mountains, burying roads out of the valley.

Many were left with a stark choice: burying their dead or taking injured relatives to the hospital, making the long trek through the snow on foot.

Abdul Rahman Sheikh, 62, said an avalanche had buried his home and seven others in his village on Monday. He dug through the snow until midnight to rescue his family, recovering his daughter-in-law — who survived with injuries — and the frozen bodies of eight other family members. He decided to bury the dead first.

“I have eight dead bodies lying in the open. If I send her to the hospital, who will look after her there? And if I go along with her, who will bury the eight bodies?” Sheikh asked mournfully.