 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Indian Army Airlifts Thousands Stranded On Kashmir Highway
Srinagar, India (AFP) March 02, 2007 India's air force has airlifted to safety more than 5,000 people stranded for days in sub-zero temperatures on a Himalayan highway by avalanches and landslides, officials said Friday. Nearly 2,000 others stuck on the highway in Indian-held Kashmir were able to start up their vehicles late Friday as labourers and engineers cleared the way, using bulldozers, snow removal machines and shovels. "All the stranded vehicles have started moving towards their destinations as the road has been cleared after days of hard work," senior traffic official Abdul Hameed told AFP. Avalanches and landslides, triggered by lashing rains and snow, blocked the 300-kilometre (186-mile) highway linking the summer capital Srinagar with Jammu, the revolt-hit region's winter capital. "The Indian Air Force has airlifted more than 5,000 people stranded in various places along the highway over the past two days," army spokesman A.K. Mathur said. Seven planes were used in the rescue operation. The highway winds through rugged Himalayan foothills and is the only road joining Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley with Jammu and the rest of the subcontinent. Many of the people had been stranded for more than a week and were sending frantic rescue messages to their relatives. Some of those stranded had been given shelter in houses along the route. Bank employee Imtiaz Ahmed, airlifted to Srinagar, said he had survived by taking refuge under a truck. "I spent six days in the open with very little food and under harsh climatic conditions," he said. He thanked the Indian Air Force for "saving my life." A major part of the road caved in at Panthal, 125 kilometers (77 miles) south of Srinagar. "I was stuck at Panthal for four days," said Gulam Ahmed, 45, who was airlifted to Srinagar on Friday. "It was a nightmare." Ahmed said part of the area was still under a thick blanket of snow and some voluntary groups were providing food and firewood to the people. The closure of the road led to food scarcities in the Kashmir valley as thousands of trucks carrying supplies were stranded on the road, officials said, adding that the vehicles had begun arriving in Srinagar. Late Thursday, the army and police rescued three foreign skiers stranded on a peak after heavy snow triggered avalanches. The trio -- two Israeli men and a Norwegian woman -- got stuck near Sunshine peak overlooking Gulmarg, the region's top ski destination, 52 kilometres north of Srinagar. Security forces also rescued 69 people, including four children, travelling in seven taxis and a truck after they were caught in an avalanche in the frontier district of Kupwara, police officer Manzoor Ahmed said. The Indian army has a strong presence in Kashmir, where it is fighting to suppress a deadly Islamic separatist insurgency that has raged since 1989.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links Bring Order To A World Of Disasters Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
Agreement Between ESA And The European Maritime Safety Agency Signed Today
Paris, France (ESA) Mar 05, 2007Mr Willem de Ruiter, Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and Mr Volker Liebig, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, signed an agreement between the two agencies, strengthening the framework for cooperation in the field of maritime monitoring and surveillance. The signature took place at the final preparatory stage of EMSA's new satellite-based oil spill monitoring service covering all European waters and adjacent high seas. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
