ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An avalanche Saturday buried alive a garrison of at least 100 Pakistani troops stationed on a glacier high in the Himalayas over which Pakistan and India have fought for 30 years.

The avalanche smothered the garrison headquarters, 16,000 feet high in the Gayari sector of the Siachen Glacier, shortly before 6 a.m. local time, a Pakistani military spokesman said.

Additional Photos

The Siachen Glacier lies between two remote peaks in the Himalayas. The glacier is claimed by Pakistan, India and China, and lies at the disputed border of the three countries. The Associated Press

The remoteness of the area made it accessible only in French-built, high-altitude helicopters, and it was hours before the first military rescue teams were flown in.

The spokesman, Gen. Athar Abbas, said sniffer dogs, trained to find earthquake victims buried under rubble, were being used to locate the missing soldiers of the Northern Light Infantry regiment. They could number as high as 150, according to some Pakistani television reports.

There were no confirmed reports of casualties, or of survivors being found, by dusk, when helicopter flights and rescue efforts on site were suspended until daybreak.

The Siachen Glacier is in the Kashmir region, claimed by Pakistan, India and China, and lies at the disputed border of the three countries.

Pakistan and India fought a 1965 war over possession of Kashmir.

Although inhabitable, and therefore not delineated by Pakistan and India, it became notorious as the world’s highest battlefield in 1984, after Indian troops occupied its strategic heights at 22,000 feet. There were fierce fighting and artillery exchanges until 1987.

Between them, India and Pakistan station up to 20,000 troops on the Siachen Glacier, but most casualties there are caused by hypothermia.

The conflict, which is set against a backdrop of 24,000-feet-plus peaks, including K-2, the world’s second-highest mountain, was captured in the 2000 movie “Vertical Limit.”

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