IAF keeps 381 stranded passengers stranded from Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh

An official said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday evacuated 381 people from Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh.

The C-17 aircraft carried 197 passengers from Srinagar to Leh, while another batch of 184 passengers reached Jammu to Leh, Chief Coordinator, Kargil Courier Service, Aamir Ali.

The IAF operates regular aircraft to airlift C-17, C-130 and passengers stranded between Jammu and Kashmir and last year in view of the closure of the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Ladakh. There was heavy rain in December. .

The highway was reopened on 28 February, but was closed again by fresh snowfall that occurred earlier this week. Thousands of passengers were airlifted by the Indian Air Force since the commencement of the Kargil courier service between the two union territories in January.