ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 7 (UPI) -- An avalanche at a Pakistan army base in the Kashmir region Saturday buried more than 100 troops under snow and a rescue is under way, officials said.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told the BBC some bodies had been recovered but he couldn't say how many soldiers had survived.
There has been no communication with any of the missing troops, he said.
The base is in the Himalaya mountains on the Siachen Glacier, where thousands of Pakistani and Indian troops are based, a security official told Pakistan News Service.
Both India and Pakistan claim the area, and Kashmir has been partitioned between India and Pakistan since 1947.
The avalanche hit at about 6 a.m. local time and the soldiers it buried are from the Northern Light Infantry regiment, which is trained in mountain operations, including avalanche rescue.
Troops, helicopters and sniffer dogs are being sent to the area to help with the rescue.
The rescue after the "very massive" avalanche could take several days, Abbas said.
"It's too early to say how many survived and how many bodies have been recovered," he said.
Abbas said avalanches typically occur at higher altitudes.
In 2010, an avalanche killed 24 Pakistani troops.
The BBC said the the Siachen Glacier is known as the world's highest battlefield, with soldiers deployed at elevations up to 22,000 feet, but harsh weather there has killed more soldiers than combat.
