Among them, 162 were stranded at Lamayuru and 10 at Biamah village after cloudburst caused massive landslides, mudslides and flash floods in the area eight days ago resulting in death and destruction.
A defence spokesperson said the Army had reached the spot where the tourists had been stranded and moved them to safer areas. They were given food, drinking water and medical facilities and were later transported to Kargil. Their respective embassies had also been notified of their wellbeing.
The spokesman said that the troops of 14 Corps, responsible for the Ladakh area, undertook the rescue operation. The Army aviation chopper evacuated two injured Austrian citizens from Khalsi, whose missing had been a grave concern for the Austrian embassy in Delhi.
The duo, Benno Wiesenberger and Ms Gudrun Sonderegger, were on a trekking trip in the Lamayuru area. Both were injured during the trek and one was diagnosed with suspected spinal injury.
On receiving the call from the Austrian embassy, the Army had set out to search for the missing persons and finally found them at a local hospital at Khalsi. As the hospital had no facilities to treat spinal injury cases, the Austrians were air-lifted to Leh, where they were treated at the military hospital.
Later, Austria’s ambassador to India called Army authorities in Leh to thank them for rescuing the duo. He also conveyed the appreciation of the Army’s effort by his government. Meanwhile, the Border Roads Organisation has launched four bailey bridges and is awaiting bridging equipments to launch four more.
