Avalanches hit several homes in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 38 villagers, police said Saturday. The avalanches buried several mud-brick homes late Friday in villages around the Neelum valley, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, said Tahir Mahmood Quereshi, a senior police officer in the area. Relief workers and police recovered at least five bodies from one village, while 33 bodies were lying in another nearby village. Troops were taking part in the rescue operation, said Mohammed Tayyab, a government official. "I think the death toll can rise because some people are still missing," he said. Heavy snowfall and torrential rain have deluged much of Kashmir as well as other parts of Pakistan for much of the past week.
