At least 17 soldiers were killed in an avalanche in the heavily fortified zone along the Indian Pakistan border in Kashmir, close to the world’s highest full ski resort at Gulmarg on Monday.

The avalanche was set off by soldiers skiing close to an Indian Army high-altitude training camp. Ski school, mountain guides and others from Gulmarg went to help in the rescue effort.

The area had seen heavy snow followed by strong winds causing the new snow to form in to slab conditions and become unstable. A maximum avalanche danger warning had been issued and avalanche prevention measures had been taken around the pistes of Gulmarhg itself. India’s top skiers, including two competing in the Vancouver Olympics are military staff.

In Iran, eight people were reported to have been killed when an avalanche struck a road between two ski resorts, Dizin and Shemshak, also among the world’s highest ski areas and not far from capital Tehran. 49 others were rescued by emergency crews. There had been heavy snowfall in the country’s Alborz mountains.