Indian rescuers have found the body of an army soldier and are searching for five others after an avalanche struck a Himalayan post in northern India.

Police officer Sakshi Verma says another five paramilitary soldiers were rescued from the area in Himachal Pradesh state bordering China.

The Press Trust of India news agency says the soldiers went to the 4,500-meter (14,760-foot) -high Shipki La border post to repair a faulty water supply line when the avalanche struck on Wednesday, burying six of them.

Avalanches and landslides are common in the region and have killed at least 21 people in the Indian portion of Kashmir in January and February this year. In 2017, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in three avalanches in the region.