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Air Force airlifts stranded passengers
Hundreds of passengers stranded in various parts of the J&K due to heavy snowfall were airlifted to their homes by the Indian Air Force, who arranged special helicopter sorties for the purpose.
Hundreds of passengers stranded in various parts of the Valley due to heavy snowfall were today airlifted to their homes by the Indian Air Force, who arranged special helicopter sorties for the purpose.
58 residents of the border town of Gurez, who had been stranded in Bandipore were airlifted to their homes, an official spokesman said.
The residents had been stranded due to heavy snowfall, blocking the highway from Bandipore to Gurez over the Rajdhani Pass.
Similarly, 78 stranded passengers were airlifted from Bandipora to Gurez in MI-17 planes of the Air Force, the spokesman said.
Gurez, situated near the Line of Control, is cut off from rest of the state by road due to recent snowfall in the area.
Meanwhile, Air Force Courier Service for airlifting passengers from Jammu to Kargil would commence from December 27 to redress the grievances of the stranded Kargil-bound passengers.
This was decided at a meeting held here today chaired by adviser to Governor C Phunsog and attended by the Director of Air Force Authorities of India N N Gupta and the Director Civil Aviation S Katoch, the spokesman said.
He said two sorties of the Air Force Courier Service on Saturday and Tuesday for airlifting passengers from Jammu to Kargil would be operated on weekly basis.
