An avalanche at a Himalayan mountain pass in Indian-occupied Kashmir has killed one person and left another nine people missing.

Top civil administrator Baseer Khan said the avalanche hit Khardung La pass in the remote Ladakh region early on Friday and trapped 10 people under snow.

Khan said one body has been recovered while rescue teams of police and army soldiers are searching for the missing.

Avalanches and landslides are common in Kashmir. Last year, 11 people were killed after their vehicle was hit by an avalanche in the northwestern Kupwara area.