India's army has rescued nearly 300 Kashmiris stranded for days in sub-zero temperatures on a Himalayan highway blocked by heavy snow, the military said Monday.
The 435-kilometre (297-mile) highway winding through the foothills of the Himalayas was cut off last week when heavy snow blocked the route connecting the state summer capital of Srinagar with the Buddhist-dominated town of Leh.
"A total of 115 vehicles, mostly trucks, and 273 civilians have been rescued till now," an army statement said in Srinagar.
The people had been stranded for three days near the 3,528-metre (11,578-foot) high Zojila Pass, about 90 kilometres northeast of Srinagar.
"The army provided them food, medicines and blankets at a makeshift shelter house. Later snow-cutters and bulldozers cleared the snow enabling the civilians to reach Srinagar on Sunday evening," the statement said.
"Communication support was also provided to enable the stranded to call their relations," it said.
The highway also links Kashmir's strategic Kargil peaks, site of a six-week battle in 1999 between Indian troops and Pakistan-backed fighters which left more than 1,000 combatants dead.
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