Kashmiris warned of avalanches, toll hits 175

Dozens of people were missing in the Himalayan region in what Major General Raj Mehta called "an unprecedented crisis."

"People living in higher reaches must vacate before they're overtaken by tragedy," Mehta told reporters in the snowbound main city, Srinagar.

The army, backed by police and paramilitary forces and civilian volunteers, battled high winds and poor visibility as they raced against time to find survivors from avalanches that struck southern Kashmir over the past four days.

But a police officer in Srinagar said officials were losing hope for the missing buried under snow in six villages which were flattened by weekend avalanches, amid below-zero temperatures.

Police and army officials said a total of 175 people had died in the past four days, 172 of them in the weekend snowslides.