Army rescues over 170 foreign tourists in Ladakh

JAMMU - The Indian Army has so far evacuated over 170 foreign tourists who were camping in western Ladakh and were stranded when the area was cut off by floods caused by the cloudburst in Leh last week, an army officer said Thursday.

Lamayuru and Aryan are the favourite destinations of foreign tourists in western Ladakh and like every year, many tourist were camping in the area.

“Fortunately for these foreign tourists, the area where they were camping was at a height so they were safe but they got cut off,” defence spokesman Lt.Col. J.S. Brar said.

“As many as 162 foreign tourists were stranded in Lamayuru village and 10 in village Biamah. The relief column of an army rescue team reached them and evacuated them to safer areas,” he added.

The tourists are in the process of being shifted to Delhi.