Girl, 12, found alive after 18 hours buried under Kashmir avalanche

Two girls emerged alive from 18 hours submerged under avalanches in Pakistan as the death toll from harsh winter weather hit more than 100.

Samina Bibi, aged 12, told rescuers she thought she would die as she lay trapped under the ruins of her house in Bakwali village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Another girl, identified as six-year-old Safia, was found trapped in Seri village with broken bones in her leg and fractures to her skull.

Samina Bibi told Reuters she had been "screaming and shouting for help" as she lay in a room under the snow.

Her mother, Shahnaz Bibi, said the family had been huddled around a fire in their three-storey house when the avalanche hit.

"We didn't hear a rumble. It happened in the blink of an eye," she said. She had given up hope of finding her daughter alive.

Samina said she suffered from a leg fracture and that blood had been oozing from her mouth. She said she could not sleep while she waited to be rescued.

Five Pakistan soldiers were reported among the dead after avalanches have swept through the steep-sided valleys in Kashmir. Elsewhere snow and rain showers have deadly landslides and flooding.

A total of 109 people were reported dead in the cold snap in Pakistan alone.

The five military engineers died when they were hit by an avalanche in Astore district of Gilgit-Baltistan, Dawn newspaper reported.

Avalanches have hit both sides of the disputed territory of Kashmir, with Indian troops also killed.

In neighbouring Afghanistan the cold front has triggered heavy snow and deadly floods which have collapsed roofs and killed dozens.