Â鶹ӰÊÓ

An attempt to rescue 135 Pakistani soldiers and civilians buried by an avalanche on a mountain in the disputed Kashmir region near the Indian border is now more of a recovery effort, reports say.

"There isn't the expectation they're going to find many survivors," CTV South Asia Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer reported Saturday.

"They are still working very hard at a very quick pace to try and do what they can" but the altitude, harsh conditions and the nature of the avalanche made it virtually impossible to live through, she told Â鶹ӰÊÓ Channel in a telephone interview from New Delhi.

"It's very much a recovery effort now . . . the avalanche smashed into their camp when they were still sleeping around six o'clock in the morning local time," she said.

Even the rescue mission is fraught with danger because of the altitude and bone-chilling temperatures, Mackey Frayer said.

The base on Siachen Glacier where the disaster occurred is at an altitude of 6,300 metres and is now buried under 21 metres of snow.

"It's extremely high and they've needed to bring in doctors and paramedics so that they can monitor the rescue crews," she said.

The military is using helicopters, sniffer dogs and anything available in an attempt to locate survivors, but the disaster struck nearly 16 hours before her  report, lowering possible survival odds to almost zero, Mackey Frayer said.

It's believed there were at least 124 soldiers and 11 civilian contractors stationed at the base.

The region is considered the "world's highest combat zone" and has been occupied by Indian and Pakistani forces since 1984.

Although there have been many exchanges of fire since then, the climate and conditions have killed more soldiers than actual combat, Mackey Frayer said.

The Pakistani military said everything that could be done to speed up the rescue effort was underway.

"We are waiting for news and keeping our fingers crossed," said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. "It's on a massive scale," he said. "Everything is completely covered."

The accident highlighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

The thousands of troops from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation for months at a time.

Troops have been deployed at elevations of up to 6,700 metres and have skirmished intermittently since 1984, though the area has been quiet since a cease-fire in 2003.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed his shock at the incident, which he said "would in no way would undermine the high morale of soldiers and officers."

The headquarters in Gayari, situated at around 4,572 metres is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their to other more remote outposts in the sector.

It is situated in a valley between two high mountains, close to a military hospital, according to an officer who was stationed there in 2003.

"I can't comprehend how an avalanche can reach that place," said the officer, who didn't give his name because he is not authorized to speak to the media. "It was supposed to be safe."

Conflict there began in 1984 when India occupied the heights of the 78-kilometre-long glacier, fearing Pakistan wanted to claim the territory.

Pakistan also deployed its troops. Both armies remain entrenched despite the ceasefire, costing the poverty-stricken countries many millions of dollars each year.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since the partition of the subcontinent on independence from Britain in 1947. Two of the wars have been over Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.