The bodies of four persons including a policeman who were buried under an avalanche during the heavy snowfall last week were recovered by the joint search parties of the army and police on Sunday.

Six persons were buried under the avalanche while they were returning to Kupwara from Machil village near the Line of Control [Images] at Zadgali last Thursday.

State authorities immediately launched massive rescue operations and rushed army and police search parties to the area.While two persons were rescued by the search parties, four others were not lucky enough.

 "Their bodies were recovered by the army and police search parties today from under tons of snow," said a senior police officer. The Kashmir valley was lashed by heavy snowfall last week which led to disruption of life.

 The northern and southern areas of Kashmir are avalanche-prone and several lives are lost, during the winters, every year.