Nine bodies recovered from snow-bound Rohtang Pass (Lead)

Rescue workers Saturday recovered the bodies of nine people who were buried in the snow near the Rohtang Pass as strong icy winds lashed Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, an official said.

"Rescue workers of the (Manali-based) Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, the police and the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) recovered nine bodies at various points near the Rohtang Pass," Superintendent of Police (Kullu) K.K. Indoria told IANS.

The rescue operations started early Saturday.

District officials had earlier said that eight people were killed when they were caught in high velocity winds near the snow-capped Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet) while they were crossing the pass on foot.

"Search is under way to recover more bodies, if any. The recovered bodies are yet to be brought down to the Marhi base camp (some 35 km from here)," he said.

Deputy Commissioner B.M. Nanta said most of the victims were labourers from Jharkhand.

"They might have slipped off icy tracks due to high velocity winds or died due to severe cold conditions," he said.

Over 75 people, mostly labourers of the GREF, were caught in strong winds around 1.30 p.m. Friday near the Rohtang Pass when they were coming from the Lahaul valley in Lahaul and Spiti district. Nine died on the spot and the others managed to reach safety. They had been stranded across the valley for the past 11 days due to heavy snowfall.

The Rohtang Pass, the gateway to the Lahaul valley, has been closed to traffic since Nov 9 due to heavy snowfall.

Located 52 km from here, the Rohtang Pass connects Manali with Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. It also plays an important role in the movement of the armed forces to the forward areas in Ladakh.

The weather at the Rohtang Pass is harsh. A sudden drop in the temperature, even in summer, can trigger winter-like conditions.

Last updated on Nov 21^st, 2009 at 15:46 pm IST--IANS