Six members of a family were buried alive in an avalanche even as a six-year-old boy was miraculously saved by the villagers.

The police said an avalanche struck the house of Ghulam Hassan Tantry in Pethalan near Kapran, 120 km from Srinagar, in south Kashmir Anantnag district  on Friday morning.

"Villagers reached the spot immediately after tragedy struck the Tantry family and miraculously managed to save a 6-year-old boy while the rest of the family members were buried alive. Their bodies were recovered late Friday afternoon," a senior police officer said.

Rescue teams of Army and the police who left for the area on Friday afternoon were yet to reach the tragedy spot as the area is snowbound and the trek is slippery.

Four other persons were killed when avalanches struck homes in Gurez and in south Kashmir Gulab Bagh village.

The state government has alerted the Army and Air Force to carry out rescue and relief operations in Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur and Ramban which witnessed unprecedented snowfall in years.