Seven foreigners evacuated from Himachal's tribal area

SHIMLA: Seven foreigners were today evacuated from Himachal's tribal Lahaul and Spiti district even as the state chopper made sorties to high altitude areas in Pooh, Tabo and Nako to airlift people stranded in rain-ravaged Kinnaur district for the past eight days.

The sorties would continue till the evening to evacuate maximum number of stranded people, state officials said.

The foreigners were evacuated from Kaza, they said. The exact number of people stuck up in these areas is yet to be ascertained as reports of more people stranded in remote areas are still pouring in.

Most of the link roads and Hindustan-Tibet National Highway was blocked at numerous places due to landslides and breaches and a large number of vehicles are stranded in the district and most of the people who have been rescued have left their vehicles and other belongings behind.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is monitoring the situation from Rampur and would return here tomorrow after casting his vote for Mandi Lok Sabha by-election.