Siliguri, December 26: Hundreds of tourists were stuck near the Changu Lake in Sikkim due to heavy snowfall, following which the Army began a rescue operation, officials said on Sunday. As the Jawaharlal Nehru Road closed due to the heavy snowfall on Saturday, hundreds of tourists got stuck near the Changu Lake, they said.

The Army rescued them and provided them shelted at their camp in the area during the night, officials said. As the weather conditions improved a bit on Sunday morning, the tourists were divided into small groups and Army personnel were guiding them to reach Gangtok, around 40 km away, on foot, officials said. Delhi Air Pollution: Air Quality in National Capital Slips to 'Severe' Category, AQI Stands at 430.

The rescue operations, which were underway till the last reports were received, are likely to continue till Monday as hundreds of tourists were visiting Tsongmo or Changu Lake, near India's boundary with China, during the Christmas holidays. Among those stuck were around 250 people from different districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, officials said.