Operation Snowfall”: Indian Army Rescues Over 200 Tourists Stranded at Rohtang Pass After Sudden Blizzard

“Operation Snowfall”: Indian Army Rescues Over 200 Tourists Stranded at Rohtang Pass After Sudden Blizzard
ROHTANG PASS, HIMACHAL PRADESH – In a dramatic high-altitude rescue operation, the Indian Army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) successfully evacuated more than 200 tourists, including women and children, who were left stranded near the treacherous Rohtang Pass after a sudden and severe blizzard struck the region.
The tourists were traveling between Manali and Lahaul when the weather took a perilous turn late Friday afternoon. A freak snowstorm, accompanied by plummeting temperatures and high-velocity winds, rapidly blanketed the highway in several feet of snow, making vehicular movement impossible and trapping dozens of cars near the popular tourist destination.
Responding to distress calls, multiple teams from the Indian Army’s Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) and the BRO were immediately mobilized from nearby camps. Braving whiteout conditions and the risk of avalanches, the rescue teams worked through the night in a mission dubbed “Operation Snowfall.”
“The primary challenge was the rapid drop in temperature and the high altitude, which posed a significant risk of hypothermia,” a senior Army official stated. “Our teams had to abandon their vehicles and proceed on foot with medical supplies, high-energy food, and blankets to reach the stranded individuals.”
By early Saturday morning, all 215 tourists had been moved to the safety of Army transit camps in Marhi and Koksar. There were no major injuries reported, though several individuals were treated for mild altitude sickness and frostbite. The BRO has since deployed heavy snow-clearing machinery, including bulldozers and rotaries, to clear the Manali-Leh highway, which remains closed to traffic.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the Himalayas’ unpredictable and often dangerous weather patterns. Authorities have issued a fresh advisory, urging tourists and commuters to check weather forecasts and avoid high-altitude passes until conditions stabilize. This successful, large-scale rescue operation has been widely praised, highlighting the bravery and efficiency of the armed forces in safeguarding civilian lives in one of India’s most challenging terrains.