ISLAMABAD -- An avalanche buried more than 100 Pakistani soldiers near the Siachen glacier on the border with India, officials told NBC News on Saturday.
Hectic efforts were being made to dig out the troops with other soldiers, sniffer dogs and helicopters all involved in the search.
"Around a hundred soldiers, including a colonel, have been buried under a snow slide early this morning at Gayari sector near Skardu," a Pakistan military spokesman said in a statement.
Siachen is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan.
A security official told The Associated Press that snow engulfed a battalion headquarters in Gayari district at 6 a.m local time Saturday.
Earlier reports spoke of 130 and 150 troops being buried.
Pakistani and Indian troops have faced each other in the area -- dubbed the world's highest battlefield -- since 1984. Many troops from both sides have died because of the extreme cold weather.
Over the years, several attempts to find a diplomatic solution that would see troops pulled back to peace-time positions have failed.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is due to visit India Sunday.
Though his visit is officially to pray at a Muslim shrine at Ajmer city, he will be attending a lunch in his honor held by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
A Pakistani government official said the two leaders would hold talks that "would encompass all issues including Siachen and Sir Creek."
- MSNBC + ABC News
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