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Hailstorm in Shimla brings down mercury
Roads beyond Atal Tunnel remained closed for traffic for the second day on Thursday due to fresh snowfall
Shimla and its surrounding areas donned a white mantle after a hailstorm on Thursday.
More than an inch of hail got accumulated on the streets of Shimla even as reports of damage were received from apple orchards in Matiana and Narkanda.
“There were twin western disturbances in the region that resulted in thunder and hailstorm. The weather will normalise in a day,” Shimla meteorological centre director Manmohan Singh said.
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The high-altitude areas of Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti districts got fresh snowfall. Roads beyond Atal Tunnel remained closed for traffic for the second day on Thursday due to the snowfall.
The night temperature in Shimla dipped to 4 degrees Celsius as it received 82.6mm of rainfall. Dharamshala got 22mm and Manali 4.4mm of rainfall.
87 passengers rescued from Baralacha Pass
Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Himachal Pradesh Police and the district administration rescued 87 passengers, including two women and four children, from the 16,000-foot Baralacha Pass.
“They were stranded following heavy snowfall and skidding of vehicles since April 20. Though rescue began the same day, it got delayed due to poor visibility and blizzards,” a BRO spokesman said, adding it took nearly 30 hours in sub-zero temperatures to bring everyone back to safety.
