SRINAGAR, India — A massive avalanche hit an Indian army training center at a ski resort town in Indian-controlled Kashmir today, killing at least 11 soldiers and trapping nearly 50 others.

Fifteen soldiers, all in need of emergency medical care, were found during the search-and-rescue operation under way at Gulmarg, a ski resort, said army spokesman Col. Vineet Sood.

The avalanche hit the army's High Altitude Warfare School at about 11 a.m. and swept away soldiers during a training session, Sood said. It was the worst avalanche in the area in many years, he said.

About 400 people, including 30 civilian workers, were at the training center, but the avalanche hit only one portion of the facility, he added.

Frequent rain and heavy snowfall often trigger avalanches and landslides in Kashmir, blocking roads and cutting off tourist resorts like Gulmarg.

Gulmarg is also close to the Line of Control, a highly militarized cease-fire line dividing the Himalayan region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.