At least 300 tourists rescued from one of India’s highest mountain passes after snowfall

At least 300 stranded tourists were rescued in India’s northern Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh after a delayed spell of heavy snowfall left drivers trapped inside a high-altitude tunnel.

Around 50 vehicles and a tourist bus were stranded in the Atal Tunnel through the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh for hours after snowfall in many parts of the northern region of the country on Tuesday.

An orange alert has been issued by the country’s federal weather agency for snowfall in the higher mountains and rains in other parts of the state over the next 48 hours.

"Around 50 vehicles and one Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus got stuck near the South Portal (SP) of ATR (Attal Tunnel Rohtang), in which 300 tourists were travelling. All tourists have been evacuated from ATR,” police officer Sakshi Verma said.

Videos showed dozens of cars lined up on the highway as snow continued to fall. People and police personnel tried to help those stranded near the Atal Tunnel, said to be world’s longest high-altitude highway tunnel.

Every year thousands of tourists visit the Himalayan states to witness snow but a lack of snowfall this season left the locals and environmentalists concerned. The latest spell of snowfall since Sunday graced the Indian regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh with the India Meteorological Department warning of snowfall for this week.

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the head of IMD, said that this would mark the initial substantial rainfall in North India this year. The winter season has witnessed minimal precipitation, with just one episode of rain in December, which had no impact on the hills.

The ongoing western disturbances are expected to result in widespread snowfall in the Himalayan region. This snowfall is crucial for the hill ecology as it replenishes water sources and glaciers, which in turn supply water to both the region and the plains of North India, he said.

Environmentalists point out that the region has been experiencing the effects of climate change, leading to extreme weather occurrences and extended periods of dry weather in both winter and summer seasons.

Orange alerts have been issued for Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi for Wednesday, and Thursday for heavy snowfall in higher altitude regions and fog in the plains.