Many killed in Kashmir landslide

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have recovered the bodies of at least eight labourers who were killed in a huge landslide.

The men were trapped under rocks and earth in Kishtwar district, about 160km (100 miles) south-east of Srinagar.

Local police official Mumtaz Ahmed said about a dozen were feared dead but some reports say up to 30 men were trapped.

The landslide came after blasting in the area. "Two lorries are buried under huge boulders," Mr Ahmed said.

GM Saroori, a junior state minister who is supervising the rescue operation, said he hoped it would be over by evening.

He told the BBC by telephone: "Eight bodies have been recovered so far. The boulders are so big that we will have to either blast them or use bulldozers."

The labourers were working for India's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on a project to widen the road between Kishtwar and the Kashmir Valley.