SRINAGAR (Reuters) - An avalanche at a Himalayan ski resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed a Swedish skier on Thursday, officials said.

The avalanche struck Affarwat in Gulmarg, a skiing destination visited by thousands of tourists each winter.

Swedish tourist Daniel Akesson, 24, was killed while a colleague was rescued and was undergoing treatment, senior police officer Imtiaz Hussain said.

Heavy snowfall has gripped Gulmarg in recent weeks. Hussain said an avalanche warning was issued late on Wednesday.

The Swedish embassy in New Delhi had been informed about the accident, an official at the Gulmarg Development Authority said.

A decades-old dispute over the mostly Muslim region of Kashmir, claimed in full but ruled in part by both Pakistan and India, has heated up after a 2003 ceasefire brought more than a decade of relative peace.