A Ministry of Defence spokesman said that the Indian Air Force rescued 81 foreigners and six tour guides from the 11,000- feet high picturesque Zanskar valley. These foreigners were stranded there for over three days, as Zanskar valley was totally cut-off from the rest of the Kargil and Leh districts.
A record number of 62 sorties were carried out by Chetak helicopters in five and half hours to bring back 81 foreign tourists and six tour operators from Zanskar to Leh,said spokesman.
The foreigners include 17 British and French nationals each, 9 Dutch nationals, 8 Czech, 7 German, 4 Israeli, Swiss and Romanian each, three Ausi, American and Italian each and 2 Spanish, the spokesman said, adding a special police assistance booth was opened to help those who have lost their passport and other travel documents so that they could be airlifted from Leh in commercial flights to Union Capital.
Out of 76 foreign nationals kept at Pang valley, two were also airlifted here as their health got deteriorated. They were admitted in the
The J&K Government today iconfirmed that 165 deaths have occurred in Leh so far due to the cloudburst and flashfloods, of which 150 bodies have been identified.
The government has also carried bulldozers and additional relief material to Leh in 03 IL-76 aircrafts to intensify relief and rehabilitation operation. The Leh airport has also been made fully functional. As many as 6 Cheetah helicopters were operated to evacuate trekkers stranded in Sklu village on Mavkha valley track route. The timely rescue operation helped to evacuate and rescue 72 foreign nationals also.
The restoration work on Srinagar-Leh and
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr. Omar Abdullah, who visited the flashflood affected areas of Leh for second time today announced Rs. 2 crore for restoration of internal road network in the area on war footing basis. He also ordered release of Rs. 30 lakh to Health and Medical Education Department for procuring empty Oxygen and Nitrous Oxide Cylinders for
The Government has also released Rs. 4 crore each in favour of Deputy Commissioner, Leh and Deputy Commissioner, Kargil. In Kargil Rs. one crore has been given for relief measures and Rs. 3 crore for restoration of public utility services. Likewise in Leh, Rs. 2 crore will be spent on relief measures and an equal amount for restoration of essential services.
The Government has also released Rs. 2 crore in favour of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu for meeting eventualities on account of natural calamities including floods and Rs. 1.5 crore to Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir for similar purpose. Rs. 0.50 crore has been also kept at the disposal of the Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara for taking up relief measures for the flood affected.
View the list of confirmed dead &
List of Foreigners Held-Up in Leh IN J&K
on the website of www.scoopnews.in (In Scoop Special section)
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