17 city trekkers rescued from Batal

In a swift action taken by the Lahaul and Spiti district administration and police, 17 trekkers from Mumbai were on Tuesday rescued from Batal to Koksar in Lahaul and Spiti district. The rescued people are members of a trekking group from Mumbai.

In a swift action taken by the Lahaul and Spiti district administration and police, 17 trekkers from Mumbai were on Tuesday rescued from Batal to Koksar in Lahaul and Spiti district. The rescued people are members of a trekking group from Mumbai.

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Earlier, 16 members of the same group were airlifted from Batal to Bahang at the helipad of Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) on Sunday. According to Lahaul and Spiti SP S.R. Rana, all trekkers who were stranded in the heavy snow at Batal on way to Manali were airlifted to safety. Rana said there was nobody left to be airlifted from the Spiti Valley.

Meena Sangmo, the leader of the trekking group, told reporters that the group had started from Mumbai to Batal covering Shimla, Sangla, Tabo and Losar. She said the owners of the Chandra dhaba at Batal were kind enough to provide them food and shelter for six days. “Had the dhaba owners not provided us shelter, we would have died,” they said.