Spiti, September 25: Heavy rains and snowfall have lashed Himachal Pradesh in the past 48 hours. Five people including three women have been rescued from Patsio area of Spiti district by an Indian Air Force’s (IAF) MI 8 chopper. Earlier in the day, Himachal, Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur assured all the 300 people who are stranded in Lahaul-Spiti due to heavy snowfall are safe and would be rescued soon. The state government had also requested two choppers for rescue operations.

Yesterday, a group of 50 trekkers had gone missing in the Sissu area of Lahaul-Spiti. Out of these 50 trekkers, 35 are students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee. The students had gone for trekking to the Hamata trekking pass in Kullu. Meanwhile, over 800 students along with their teachers who had gone to participate in a school competition in Chamba were stranded in the Bharmour. As per reports, all the students are reported to be safe.

The water level in Beas River has increased due to heavy rains. All the government educational institutes in various districts of the state have been ordered to remain closed until the situation becomes normal. On September 23, a cloudburst occurred in Kullu district of the state. Till now five deaths have been reported from Himachal Pradesh due to flash floods following heavy rains.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 25, 2018 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).