Dozens of people were missing in the Himalayan region in what Major General Raj Mehta called "an unprecedented crisis."

"People living in higher reaches must vacate before they're overtaken by tragedy," Mehta told reporters in the snowbound main city of Srinagar.

The army, backed by police and paramilitary forces and civilian volunteers, battled high winds and poor visibility to search for survivors of avalanches that struck southern Kashmir over the past four days.

But a police officer in Srinagar said officials were losing hope for the missing buried under snow in six villages which were flattened by weekend avalanches, amid below-zero temperatures.

Police and army officials said a total of 188 people had died in the past four days, 185 of them in the weekend snowslides and three in an avalanche Tuesday.

"We have found 73 bodies today" in addition to those found earlier, said a senior police officer in Qazigund, near the avalanche-hit area 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Srinagar.

The air force searched for the missing and dropped food packages.

Air Force Group Captain Manavandera Singh said 1,700 people including 40 foreign tourists had been airlifted to safety.

A new avalanche Tuesday morning struck the Rangamunda area, 80 kilometers south of Srinagar, killing three people and leaving six missing.

Mehta warned that warmer temperatures expected in the next few days could unleash fresh avalanches.

Dozens of hamlets at altitudes of 8,000 to 10,000 feet (2,424 meters to about 90 kilometers from Srinagar were at risk from new snowslides, he said.

The number of people affected by the army's call to leave was not immediately known. But authorities planned to set up emergency shelters in concrete public buildings for people to take refuge for the next 10 to 15 days.

"Each hill has become loaded with snow and just walking can trigger avalanches," Mehta said. Up to 17 feet of snow has blanketed the region since Thursday, weather officials said.

Kashmir has a massive army presence as the Indian government is seeking to suppress a bloody 15-year-old revolt against New Delhi's rule.

Mehta said only 78 were officially listed as missing. But government officials said it was impossible to give a firm figure for the number of dead and missing.

"It's an enormous tragedy. The number of dead may be higher as many areas are still inaccessible. We've mobilised all resources to rescue survivors," senior state government official Nayeem Akhtar said.

Mohammed Jabbar, village head of Panzad, told reporters in Qazigund locals had retrieved 150 bodies from nearby Watlingo village which was hardest hit by the avalanches.

"Some 250 people are missing in Watlingo and some other avalanche-hit regions," Jabbar said. Nazir Ahmed, a policeman who visited Watlingo, said about 100 houses had been swept away.

A police officer in Srinagar, who did not wish to be named, told AFP the total number of people unaccounted for amounted to "several hundred."

Mehta said the army only learnt of one weekend avalanche after a shepherd walked 20 hours in snow to inform an army post.

Some searchers were using tracker dogs to trace survivors.

So far, about 216 people have died in two weeks of heavy snow in Kashmir, including 19 soldiers. The toll was the worst since 1996 when more than 230 people were killed in avalanches.

Srinagar, Kashmir's largest city with 725,000 people, was without power for a fifth day. "We're freezing in cold. There's no electricity. We pray this ends soon," said Aisha Begum, 82, huddled under blankets.

The heavy snow cut road and air links to the state, resulting in food shortages in some northern parts. The air force was ferrying fuel, vegetables and milk to Srinagar.

About 1,500 motorists and truckers stranded on a snowbound main highway between Srinagar and the winter capital Jammu were in emergency shelters.

Another 311 people including troops and truck drivers were sheltering inside Jawahar Tunnel on the highway, Mehta said. Helicopters had dropped food packets that were enough to last 15 days.

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