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Bad weather hits Pakistan avalanche search

The search for some 139 people buried in 80 feet of snow by an avalanche in a mountainous area of northern Pakistan is being hampered by bad weather, according to the U.S. Embassy.
Image:
The site of an avalanche that buried more than 130 people in a mountainous region of Pakistan is seen in this aerial photograph released by Pakistani authorities Sunday.INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS via AFP - Getty Images
/ Source: NBC News and msnbc.com

The search for some 139 people, mostly soldiers, buried in 80 feet of snow by an avalanche in a mountainous area of northern Pakistan is being hampered by bad weather, according to the U.S. Embassy.

A Pakistani military official told NBC News Monday that so far not "a single body" had been recovered, two days after the avalanche struck Saturday morning.

More than 200 Pakistani soldiers are involved in the rescue effort in Gayari, Siachen, deep in the Himalayan mountains at an altitude of about 15,000 feet.

An eight-member U.S. technical team arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, but were still in the capital Monday.

Image: Avalanche buries 130 Pakistan soldiers in Himalayan region
epa03175614 A handout picture released by the Pakistani military Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on 08 April 2012 shows Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani (2-R) visiting the Siachen region, considered to be the worlds highest battlefields where an avalanche burried more than 100 Pakistani soldiers. An avalanche buried as many as 130 Pakistani soldiers in the country's Himalayan region, an army officer said 07 April 2012. The incident occurred early 07 April in the Siachen region that is disputed by India and Pakistan, about 100 kilometres north of Skardu. 'We have launched rescue operations with helicopters and experts have already been dispatched', said the officer who requested anonymity. EPA/ISPR/HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALESISPR

"The U.S. expert team is still in Islamabad. Inclement weather and snow fall are hampering the efforts," a U.S. Embassy spokesman told NBC News.

A team of experts from Germany arrived Monday.

Teams are reportedly working in freezing temperatures and in treacherous terrain in an attempt find any surviving comrades buried under the snow.