Seven Indian soldiers were killed and dozens missing after avalanches Monday struck a mountain area in Kashmir where they were carrying out high-altitude warfare training, police said Monday.

The avalanches hit the Khelenmarg mountains, close to Gulmarg, the region's main ski tourist destination which lies 50 kilometres west of Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital.

"Seven soldiers' bodies have been recovered," a police officer told AFP, asking to remain unnamed.

The military said rescue operations were under way to find those unaccounted for.

"Some 70 soldiers have been rescued but dozens are missing," army spokesman J.S. Brar said.

The area hit by the avalanches houses the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School, where the soldiers were on training exercises.

"The details emerging from the area are very sketchy," Brar said.

Heavy snowfall was hampering rescue efforts.

"We are struggling to reach the area, the snow and high winds are making rescue operations very difficult," Kashmir tourism official Ghulam Mohammed Dar, who was part of the rescue operation, told AFP.