Over 300 tourists stranded without meal following unexpected snowfall at the south portal of Atal tunnel were rescued in an operation that continued till 1 am on Saturday. All were rescued to safety after struggles of over 6 six hours amid snowfall.
While some vehicles were freed from snow in the night time, other vehicles were evacuated on Sunday. The Atal tunnel has been closed for tourist movement due to inclement weather conditions and heavy snowfall in the area. Tourist movement is now being restricted to Palchan village only.
As many as 250 tourist vehicles had reached the Atal tunnel on Saturday early morning. All vehicles were sent back by Lahaul-Spiti police as it was snowing heavily in the valley. Tourists then stopped at the south portal of the tunnel and Dhundi to enjoy snowfall. As snowfall intensified, Kullu police stopped tourist movement towards the tunnel. While some tourists returned back to Manali, others stayed there for a longer time.
With the increasing depth of snow on the road surface, the vehicles started slipping. A large number of vehicles collided with each other. Drivers were finding it difficult to keep cars on road which were slipping outwards towards the edge. This resulted in a road blockade. This took a long time for tourists to understand how to deal with the situation but it was too late till then as over 15cm of snow had accumulated on the road.
After receiving information about tourists getting stranded at the tunnel, a police team from Kullu with help of police units at Atal tunnel launched the rescue operation. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) started clearing snow from the road and police took help from 4X4 vehicle operators of Manali. Tourist vehicles were freed and brought down one by one. More than 300 tourists in a large number of vehicles got stuck in snow these tourists were rescued in local 4X4 vehicles.
Kullu SP Gaurav Singh told the local media that more than 300 stranded tourists were rescued safely by a team of Manali police station, Atal tunnel unit, local four-wheel-drive vehicles. “Tourists had crossed tunnel early in the morning. Weather turned inclement suddenly and it started snowing. The vehicles stranded and tourists got stuck. The rescue operation continued till late night amid heavy snowfall,” he said.
The SP added that a total of 82 vehicles of tourists that had stuck in snow in night time have been evacuated on Sunday. “Tourists can take their vehicles. Snow from the highway has also been cleared,” he added.
While Lahaul-Spit administration has made it mandatory for all vehicles to obtain prior permission before entering the valley, Kullu administration on Sunday issued advisory urging tourists not to go towards Atal tunnel in next few days. “There is forecast of heavy snowfall in the area. The road is slippery. People should avoid venturing into isolated areas and should not go towards avalanche and landslide prone areas,” Kullu DC Richa Verma was quoted as saying.
This is for the first time that tourists have stranded at Atal tunnel after its opening on October 3, 2020. Earlier tourists use to visit Kothi and Gulaba for snow in January month which is comparatively safe. However, similar rescue operations to rescue stranded tourists have been launched many times before at Gulaba, Marhi, and Rohtang pass areas. The Solang-Atal tunnel stretch is very prone to avalanches and the areas receive very heavy snow.
Comments