The heaviest snowfall in 15 years in Indian Kashmir, blinding blizzards and fresh avalanches have killed at least 170 people in Indian Kashmir since the weekend, police said on Tuesday. The actual toll could be significantly higher, officials cautioned, as entire villages in remote areas of southern Kashmir have been swept away since Friday. Unofficial estimates put the toll at 300. Steady snowfall hampered rescue and relief efforts. Officials said hundreds were missing and in some areas of south Kashmir houses were buried under 20-30 feet of snow. By Tuesday afternoon, however, skies cleared up briefly and the sun emerged, long enough for state-owned Indian Airlines to operate three flights out of the state's summer capital Srinagar. Rescue teams from the army and air force airdropped food and medicines in some inaccessible areas. The air force rescued 42 tourists, mainly European trekkers, from Padam Zanskara in Kashmir's Ladakh region on Monday. They included 27 French tourists, four Germans, six Britons, two Belgian and three Swiss nationals, an air force spokesperson told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Tuesday. The trekkers were stranded for two days and were to be brought to New Delhi shortly, the official said. Most of the national highway that links Kashmir to the rest of India was blocked, with the fate of 800 vehicles and an estimated 4,000 travellers unknown. Supplies were also airdropped to 310 people, mainly officers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, trapped in the Jawahar tunnel that is the critical link between Srinagar and winter capital Jammu. By Tuesday evening, 51 people were evacuated from the tunnel, New Delhi Television reported.
