SRINAGAR, India, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The death toll from heavy snowfall and avalanches in Kashmir reached 300 Wednesday as rescuers dug out 200 more bodies, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.
On the Indian-administered side of Kashmir, rescuers dug out several soldiers who had been trapped beneath feet of snow in a tunnel for days. Several of them were near asphyxiation, Sky News reported.
Authorities have so far rescued over 1,700 survivors including 37 foreigners from disaster-hit areas following the heaviest snowfalls in the region in decades.
Authorities in the Himalayan region fear the casualties might rise further as millions are struggling with no electricity or transportation. Rescue operations are still under way in some districts, where whole villages were buried under the snow.
The national highway connecting the mountainous area to the rest of the country remained closed to all traffic for the twelfth day Wednesday.
The valley region hasn't seen any sunshine for more than two weeks, prompting the weather office to issue avalanche warnings for hilly areas, and ask residents to move around carefully to avoid setting off slides.
