Associated Press

Srinagar, February 19:

Thousands of travellers were trapped today along a stretch of mountainous highway in Kashmir, as more than three metres of snow fell in 24 hours, blocking roads, breaking power lines and halting phone services across much of the Himalayan region, authorities said.

Ten highway workers trying to clear the road were swept away when an avalanche of snow poured over them, said Rauf ul-Hafan, the highway superintendent for the traffic police, but six were rescued.

Authorities were searching for the others. He said about 4,000 people were believed to be trapped between the villages of Banihal, about 100 km south of Srinagar, and Ramban, about 50 km further south, he said. Most are believed to have taken shelter in villages along the highway, which is prone to avalanches. With heavy snow still falling, and meteorologists predicting it would continue until at least Sunday, it was not clear when the travellers would be rescued.

“Because of the continuous snowfall, rescue and clearance operations have been slowed down,” said ul-Hafan. “So police and government officials are trying to take people to nearby villages and get them to temporary shelters.” Police said at least a dozen homes had collapsed under the weight of the snowfall in the border regions of Kupwara and Badgam, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths.

About 50 cm of snow had fallen since Friday on Srinagar, blocking the streets and shutting down electricity and phone service. With communication cut across much of Kashmir, it was not clear if there had been snow-related incidents elsewhere.

A mixture of snow and rain had been pelting Kashmir for the past week, but the precipitation changed to heavy snowfall on Friday.