650 Evacuated, 1,000 Still Stranded in Himachal Hills

Shimla: More than 650 people, including five foreigners, have been evacuated in the past two days and over 1,000 are still stranded in snow-marooned Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. Three stranded persons, including a pregnant woman from Nepal, have died in the past two days.

On Wednesday, as the weather cleared, the government and the Indian Air Force (IAF) stepped up efforts to airlift tourists stranded for the past four days. “IAF choppers and the state government are on the job to airlift the stranded. Most have been brought to Manali and Kullu towns,” Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan, who is supervising the relief and rescue operation, told IANS over telephone. The IAF has deployed three helicopters while the state is using the Chief Minister’s official chopper. Nine persons, hailing from West Bengal, were airlifted from Stingri and five from the snow-marooned Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft). Five tourists from Norway and Denmark were also rescued. Most people who got stuck at the Baralacha Pass were traveling to and from Manali to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. (IANS)