SRINAGAR, India, Feb 7 (Reuters) - An avalanche killed an Australian in Indian Kashmir while he was skiing at a popular mountain resort on Wednesday, police said.

A police statement identified him as Shaun Gregory Anton, a 31-year-old Melbourne resident who was skiing at a height of 13,400 feet (4,000 metres) near Apherwat mountain in Kashmir's Gulmarg ski resort.

"The avalanche swept him down for 2 km (one mile) and buried him under a pile of snow for about 45 minutes before a rescue team dug him up," the police statement said.

Gulmarg lies 50 km (30 miles) from Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital.

Thousands of tourists, including hundreds of foreigners, have visited Gulmarg this winter, despite a separatist Muslim insurgency in the restive Kashmir region.

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