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ISLAMABAD: The expert teams from Germany and Switzerland have reached Pakistan to take part in the rescue operation at Siachen Glacier where 135 troops and civilians got buried on Saturday by a massive avalanche that engulfed a military complex in Gayari sector, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Six German and three Swiss experts are embraced with equipments who are also waiting along with the US team to leave for Gayari as bad weather is still posing difficulties.

It is important to mention here that a team of eight technical experts from the US reached Islamabad on Monday to assist in rescue efforts but could not leave for Gayari due to heavy snowfall.

At least 240 Pakistani troops and civilians worked at the site of the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier with the aid of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, said the army. But they struggled to dig through some 25 meters (80 feet) of snow spreaded over an area of about one kilometer.

Pakistani army spokesman Gen Athar Abbas said Sunday evening that it was unclear whether any of the people who were buried are still alive. At least 124 soldiers from the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion and 11 civilian contractors are missing.

Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the site Sunday to supervise rescue operations.

The thousands of soldiers from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation for months at a time. Troops have been posted at elevations of up to 6,700 meters (22,000 feet) and have skirmished intermittently since 1984, though the area has been quiet since a cease-fire in 2003. The glacier is known as the world's highest battlefield.

Gen Abbas said the headquarters that was buried was located in an area previously believed to be safe. At an altitude of around 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), it is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their way to more remote outposts.

More soldiers have died from the weather than combat on the glacier, which was uninhabited before troops moved there.