300 tourists stranded near Atal Tunnel rescued by HP police

The Himachal Pradesh Police rescued over 300 tourists stranded near Atal Tunnel at Rohtang after fresh snowfall, an official said on Sunday. 

Tourists who had crossed the tunnel on Saturday morning could not find any place to rest in Lahaul due to snowfall. While returning to Manali, they were stranded midway, Kullu SP Gaurav Singh told PTI.

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The Lahaul-Spiti Police coordinated with the Kullu Police to send vehicles through the tunnel in the evening. However, these vehicles got stuck midway due to snowfall and slippery roads before reaching Manali, Singh added.

A 48-seater bus, a 24-seater police bus, and one police quick reaction team(QRT) were deployed for the rescue operation. The DSP and the SHO of Manali were also involved in the rescue operation. They were later joined by the border roads organisation (BRO), the Kullu SP said.

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It took several hours to rescue the stranded tourist. The operation started on Saturday evening and continued after midnight, the SP added.

The tourists were rescued from Dhundhi and South Portal of the tunnel till 12:33 am. They were taken to safer places in Manali.

A personnel team led by Manali SHO checked the route for any other stranded tourists.

According to the Meteorological Department, snowfall is expected around the tunnel in coming days. A yellow weather warning has been issued for heavy snowfall in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday by the MeT Department on January 8.

The Atal Tunnel, at an altitude of 10,040 feet, is the world’s largest tunnel and has become a famous tourist destination since October.