Jammu, Aug 9: The Indian Air Force on Monday claimed to have rescued at least 81 foreign tourists to safety in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, where flash floods have killed more than 150 people.
 “81 foreigners and six tour operators have been rescued from Zanskar valley region of flood affected Leh by IAF today”, a defence spokesman, said here today.
 He said that 63 sorties had been carried out with duration of 25 hours flying from Leh to the rescue site. The foreigners have been rescued and safely flown to Leh, he said adding a special police assistance booth was also opened to help those who lost their passport and other travel documents.
 Among those who have been rescued include 17 British, 17 French, nine Dutch, eight Czech, seven German, four Israeli, four Swiss, four Romanian, there Aussies, three American, three Italian and two Spanish.
 However, a news agency claimed that around 150 foreign tourists were rescued from the affected areas. “We have airlifted all 150 foreign tourists from Zanskar valley near Leh, where they were stranded for three days,” the news agency quoted Priya Joshi, air force spokesperson, as saying adding about 160 people, mostly foreigners, were awaiting evacuation in the remote areas of Lama Yuru and Karu.
 At least 300 people remained missing from last week’s flash floods triggered by cloud burst that destroyed homes, uprooted telephone towers and deposited boulders and mud up to 15 feet high on highways, cutting road links with the rest of the world.
 Though the government say it had taken appropriate measures to evacuate the tourists, domestic tourists were allegedly being ignored. “My son was trapped in Nemo for last three days and he managed to reach Leh today, but there was no one to help him”, Rajni Sharma, of Channi Jammu said.
 Thousands of tourists travel to Ladakh every year to visit old Buddhist monasteries and for adventure sports.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 9 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 9 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST