Click to play videoLeh: Rescue and relief efforts were on a war-footing in cloudburst-hit Leh region as 81 foreigners and six tour guides were Monday rescued by the Air Force from Zanskar Valley while the death toll mounted to 165 and 400 others remained missing.
Only 150 of the dead have been identified so far, official sources said, adding the victims include a Romanian woman, 15 Nepalese nationals and two Tibetans. Two French nationals and a Spaniard were yet to be traced, they said.
The IAF carried out a record 62 sorties by Chetak helicopters in five and half hours to bring back 81 foreign campers and six tour guides from the 11,000-feet Zanskar Valley who were stuck there since intervening night of August 5 and 6 after cloudburst and flash floods wreaked havoc in Leh and surrounding areas.
26 Army personnel missing
The cloudburst and flash floods in Leh affected not only civilians but the men guarding India's borders also. Twenty-six Army personnel are still missing after the disaster on the night of August 5.
The Army said Monday most of the missing personnel are feared to have been buried under 20 to 25 feet of slush while a few could even have been washed away into areas under Pakistan's control.
"The cloudburst has done a lot of damage to civilian as well as the military establishment," GOC of 14 Corps Lieutenant General S K Singh said here.
Giving an overview of the extent of damage to the military establishment, he said small culverts and bridges used for going to many forward locations have been destroyed and it will take quite some time before these can be re-built.
(With inputs from PTI)
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
