They said the accident happened on March 29, but reports only reached the summer capital of Srinagar on Tuesday.

"The five were killed when they were patrolling in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara," a spokesman for India's Border Security Force (BSF) told AFP.

Kupwara borders Pakistan-administered Kashmir and falls on the Line of control (LoC) -- the 742-kilometre (460-mile) defacto border that divides Kashmir between rivals India and Pakistan.

"They had just walked out of their post when an avalanche sent them 1,000 feet (300 metres) down a hill," the spokesman said.

He said Indian army and BSF reinforcements launched a rescue operation in the area under heavy snowfall.

"They were only able to recover their bodies," he said.

Last month more than 20 Indian army personnel died in a similar avalanche in the Ladakh region of Kashmir.

SPACE.WIRE