The army has rescued 37 labourers who were trapped under snow at the high altitude Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway, defence sources said on Sunday. The sources said that the operation to rescue the labourers was launched soon after Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the 434-km long highway, informed the army about the mishap early on Sunday.
The army immediately pressed helicopters into service and moved its men to help the BRO to rescue the trapped labourers, the sources said. Despite the closure of the road, the only road linking Ladakh with Kashmir, following seasons first heavy snowfall on Saturday, the labourers stranded at Gumri started proceeding towards Sonamarg. However, they were trapped under a huge snow avalanche while crossing the 3472-metre high Zojila Pass, which reportedly had about eight feet of snow, they said.
Three labourers who escaped the avalanch informed the beacon officials about the accident, who promptly rushed the rescue teams and informed army to get assistance to save the labourers from the jaws of death, the sources said. The rescued labourers were shifted to hospital, the sources said, adding that the condition of some of them was reported to be ''serious'' and were undergoing treatment in army base hospital in Srinagar.
One Abdul Rashid Chaya, who was among the labourers said that he was ahead of others when a huge avalanch suddenly struck the group of labourers and trapped them. Bureau Report