Srinagar, 2008 Feb 9, IRIB 
 
At least six persons are reported to have perished in a snow avalanche that swept a remote hamlet in south Kashmir early on Friday.

Thirty more including some children were trapped under snow, reports said.

Bodies of three persons - two men and a 12-year-old girl Shabeena Akhtar have been recovered so far, the sources said.

Thirty others are trapped since the avalanche early Friday buried four houses in Gulab Bagh village inhabited by nomadic Gujjars in Anantnag, Islamabad district.

A senior official said a massive rescue operation has been started to save the trapped villagers.

Eleven persons have so far died during the last four days in incidents of house collapses and avalanches across the valley as the weather continued to wreak havoc in Kashmir.

The valley continues to be blocked with the only functional surface link with the rest of India, the 300 km long Jammu-Srinagar highway, closed for the fifth day Friday and flights suspended for the fourth day.

People living in higher reaches and foothill villages have been asked to avoid unnecessary movements in these areas as the risk of avalanches remains very high.