300 Tourists Stranded Near Atal Tunnel, Rescued

After heavy snowfall…

On Tuesday, Himachal Pradesh Police rescued 300 tourists stranded near the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang after heavy snowfall in the area.

Kullu SP Sakshi Verma said, "Nearly 50 vehicles and one Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus got stuck near the South Portal (SP) of ATR, in which 300 tourists were there. All tourists have been evacuated safely from ATR."

SP Kullu further said that she, along with Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Manali, Tehsildar Manali, Station House Officer (SHO) Manali, and the team conducted a rescue operation.

This comes as the IMD issued an orange alert for various places in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, indicating the possibility of snowfall in the higher mountains and rain in other parts of the state during the next 48 hours.

According to IMD, from the late night of January 30 to the morning of February 2, heavy rain or snowfall is likely at some places in Chamba, Kangra, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul, Spiti, Mandi, and Shimla districts.

The Meteorological Department has predicted snowfall in the high-altitude areas of the state and snowfall in the plains.

"During the six days, right from tonight, there are possibilities of rain and snow in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh.

The rain will start tonight. On January 31 and February 1, in the districts of Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, and Kullu, there are chances of moderate to heavy snowfall.

We have issued an orange alert for these areas. There are chances of rain and thunderstorms with lighting activities in districts of Kangra, Bilaspur, and Shimla," Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist of IMD said.