Snowfall in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang: BRO rescues 70 stranded tourists and locals

Guwahati: Border Roads Organisation (BRO) rescued at least 70 tourists and locals, who remained stranded at Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district due to heavy snowfall triggered by plummeting temperature.

Defence spokesperson Mahendra Rawat on Friday in a statement said that the tourists were evacuated on Thursday night when heavy snowfall engulfed the higher reaches of Tawang, situated near the border with China. The temperature went down to minus 10 degrees.

Heavy snowfall since Thursday disrupted traffic and closed roads in Tawang, he added.

"The BRO went beyond their mandate of keeping the roads open for traffic to carrying out a rescue operation in order to evacuate approximately 70 tourists and locals stranded at the Sela Pass. The 42 Border Roads Task Force of Project Vartak mobilised its men and equipment to rescue vehicles with 70 tourists and local people stranded," Rawat said in a statement on Friday.

"The team braved out the chilling cold with temperatures going below minus 10 degree celsius to save precious lives throughout the night and were able to move them to safety by 4:30 am Friday."

He said Project Vartak has deployed men and personnel round the clock at not only Sela Pass but other important roads in the region as well in order to keep them accessible for traffic at all times.