As many as 672 people were rescued from Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district after recent snowfall and rains closed off most roads in the region, officials said Wednesday.
The operations via road were taken up by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) and 641 stranded people were reported to have been rescued, officials said. The rescued were taken to safer areas in Manali by road through Shishu tunnel in Lahaul, they said.
Thirty-one stranded people, including fifteen foreigners, were airlifted to safety by the Indian Air Force, officials said.
IAF helicopters made several sorties to rescue the stranded from Baralchala and other areas in Lahaul tehsil. The rescued were flown to a temporary helipad at Dhalpur Ground in Kullu district, officials said.
An official of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority said most of the 614 roads of the state, including Chandigarh-Manali Road, have been reopened.
He said the total number of rescued were 672 from Lahaul and Spiti district. However, around 40 people are still stranded there, the official said.
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Keylog Sub-divisional Magistrate Amar Negi said five persons had been airlifted to Stingri on Tuesday evening.
Negi said two IAF helicopters continued airlifting operations till evening. The IAF focused operations in mostly inaccessible areas, including Koksar and Baralacha.
The weather conditions are favourable now and BRO personnel are on the job to clear debris from the roads, he said, adding that more roads may open up by Thursday morning, the SDM said.
The airlifted foreigners include eight Nepalese, four Danish, two Norwegians, one Bhutanese. Some of the rescued foreigners are Kristensen (70), Twensen (56), Johansen (57), Rolf Bekker (53), Anne Christine (53), Per Bones, Kunama Lama (54) and Nwang Dorje (70) and Sonam Niranja (39).
Five women and three children were airlifted from Sarchu in Lahaul on Wednesday evening. They include two women from Assam, the rest six are from Nepal, an official said.