Indian Army rescues 1,500 tourists stranded due to snowfall in Sikkim

As many as 1,500 stranded tourists were rescued by the Indian Army after heavy snowfall blocked the Jawaharlal Nehru road in Sikkim.

The Army carried out the rescue operation on December 27 despite poor visibility and inclement weather.

The stranded tourists were provided relief including, food, shelter, warm clothing and medicines, to ensure their safety from weather and high altitude.

"These tourists, travelling in nearly 300 taxis, were returning from Nathu La Pass - Tsomgo Lake on Friday evening and got stranded midway at various points along Jawaharlal Nehru road as the motorable stretch was blocked by snow," read an official statement by Indian Army.

The stranded tourists including women, children and elderly persons were accommodated at Army Camp at 17th Mile.

The Army provided JCB and Dozers to clear the snow and restore road connectivity at the earliest.

The evacuation process is still on and will continue till all stranded tourists are safely evacuated to the state capital Gangtok.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gangtok is likely to receive cloudy sky and rain in the next week.

Dense fog is very likely in isolated pockets over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland," IMD said in its All India Weather Warning Bulletin.