Mughal road cleared of snow, stranded passengers rescued

JAMMU, Oct 19: Nearly 70 passengers stranded after suspension of traffic on the Mughal road here due to heavy snowfall in high altitude areas have been rescued and the road cleared of snow, officials said on Wednesday.
However, traffic on the road connecting Poonch in Jammu with South Kashmir’s Shopian has been put on halt due to slippery road conditions.
There was snowfall in high altitude areas on Tuesday evening, leaving dozens of vehicles stranded between Pir Ki Gali and Poshana in Poonch, they said.
A joint rescue operation by police and Army was launched around 9 pm and was still continuing when last reports were received, the officials said.
“Nearly 70 passengers of 28 vehicles including 15 Light Motor Vehicles have been rescued and evacuated to safer places”, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Aftab Shah told PTI.
He said the highway has been cleared of snow but traffic has not been allowed due to extreme slippery road conditions. (Agencies)