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SRINAGAR, India (AP) — An avalanche at a ski resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday killed a Swedish skier while another was rescued, police said.
The two Swedes were buried in snow when they were skiing high in the mountains of the tourist town of Gulmarg, said police officer Imtiyaz Hussain.
Police said the rescued Swede's condition is stable. Hussain identified the fatality as 25-year-old Daniel Akesson.
The Pirpanjal mountain range in the western Himalayas around Gulmarg is a popular skiing destination for both Indian and foreign tourists.
In 2010, at least 17 soldiers were killed after an avalanche hit the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg during their training session.
Avalanches and landslides are common in Kashmir and have caused heavy death tolls for the Indian and Pakistani armies camped near the mountainous and forested militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in three avalanches last year, and in 2012, a massive avalanche in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir killed 140 people, including 129 Pakistani soldiers.
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