Tourists stranded amidst heavy snowfall in Manali
By ANITuesday, January 5, 2010
MANALI - Hundreds of tourists were left stranded in Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh on Monday, as vehicular traffic remained suspended following sudden heavy snowfall overnight.
Despite a clear sky, traffic could not resume and over 250 vehicles remained stuck.
” Due to heavy snowfall we are stuck in the car. We slept in the car during night in this chilly weather,” said Naresh, a taxi driver from Shimla.
Local administration and police rescued about 1,000 tourists from over 150 stranded vehicles.
“Because of sudden snowfall over 250 vehicles got stuck in the valley. As per the information provided to us 17 vehicles managed an escape from the snow but 150 vehicles remained stuck on the road. Our traffic police staff and policemen from neighbouring police stations managed to rescue 100-150 vehicles and some 900 to 1,000 tourists,” said Aashish Sharma, D.S.P Manali. (ANI)