Army rescues 64 passengers stranded in snow blizzard in North Kashmir

SRINAGAR :  As many as 64 passengers, including women and children, who were stranded due to snow blizzard, were rescued by Army at Nasta Chhun Pass in Kupwara district.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel N N Joshi here today said undeterred by the inclement weather and heavy snowfall, Army again came to the rescue of 64 stranded passengers at the Nasta Chhun Pass in Kupwara.
He said 10 light vehicle carrying 64 civilians and 12 load carriers were caught in deep snow and raging snow blizzard near Nasta Chun Pass endangering the lives of the commuters on March 24.
“The Army detachment at Nasta Chun Pass received information at 2200 hrs about the stranded civilians and the Avalanche Rescue Team from Nasta Chun Pass was immediately took action to provide assistance to the stranded civilians,” Col Joshi said.
“The team reached the site despite strong snow blizzards and rescued all the civilians, he said, adding the stranded vehicles were provided a safe track by manually clearing the snow.
He said the rescue operation was again launched in the early hours to pull out 12 heavily loaded trucks using dozer of General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF).
“The Army detachment at Nasta Chhun Pass provided medical aid, food and other necessary assistance to the rescued civilians and received the heartwarming appreciation from the locals for coming to their rescue in the hour of need and risking their lives in an extremely inclement weather amid the avalanche warning,” he added. (Agencies)