As many as 400 people have been rescued from the Khardungla Pass, the world's highest motorable road, after they were stuck in heavy snowfall resulting in landslips.
During the operation, which began at 5 p.m. on Friday and continued till 3.45 a.m. on Saturday, 145 vehicles carrying tourists, including women and children, were rescued.
Immediately after news of landslips was received here, Superintendent of Police Vivek Gupta led a team of rescue workers from the police, CRPF and Army to the spot, 17,815 feet above sea level in the Ladakh region. A medical team accompanied them.
According to the official spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir government, the vehicles, carrying tourists, labourers and passengers were trapped in sub-zero temperature and stranded between South and North Pullu, 42 km from here. This road leads to the Siachen glacier and the Nurbu valley.
Northern Command Army Spokesperson Rajesh Kalia said about 120 people were administered oxygen as oxygen levels were low in the area. On Friday, many of the stranded passengers complained of altitude sickness.
