Manali, June 29: Nearly 2,000 vehicles have been stranded on Manali -Leh highway due to a landslide in Marhi area since Thursday night. According to a recent tweet by ANI, the road has been flooded at Sissu in Lahaul-Spiti district.  The landslide has been caused as the region has been witnessing incessant rainfall since the past 24 hours.

Reports inform that mostly tourist and military vehicles are stranded on the road. The roadblock was reported to the local administration by commuters on Friday morning.  According to a report by Hindustan Times, roads have blocked the strategic Manali-Leh highway which is close to Marhi, 30 kilometres uphill from the tourist town of Manali.

38 Border Roads Task Force Commander AK Awasthi was quoted by HT saying that heavy machinery has been pressed into service. He said huge rocks are constantly rolling down the hills, making it even more difficult. He said traffic would be restored within a few hours.

Meanwhile, Manali Deputy Superintendent of Police Sher Singh was quoted in the HT report saying the Border Roads Organisation has informed that it would take another 6-8 hours to clear the road for traffic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 02:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).