An Army officer and four civilians were killed as avalanches hit Ganderbal and Bandipora districts of Kashmir on Wednesday, reported PTI. The authorities have issued an alert in the region after fresh snowfall on Tuesday. People have been asked to stay away from the mountains and foothills.

Major Amit of the High Altitude Warfare School was buried under debris when an avalanche struck an Army camp in Sonamarg, Ganderbal, in the morning. The rescue team saved six soldiers from the avalanche, reported The Times of India. An Army spokesperson told The Hindu that snow measuring more than five feet had accumulated in the camp. Reports claimed that two more Army personnel were missing, but the spokesperson told the daily, “There are no missing persons.”

In the early hours of Wednesday, another avalanche had hit Badoogam village in Gurez area of Bandipora district in which the house of one Mehraj-ud-Din Lone was submerged in snow, killing four members of the family. The lone survivor is his son, Reyaz Ahmad, who has been admitted to a hospital.