Seven patients were Friday airlifted from Kupwara to Srinagar in an Army chopper.
An official spokesman in a statement said that the patients were referred to Srinagar for advanced treatment by local hospitals and were airlifted from Tangdhar helipad.
He said that this was done on the directions of Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Karnah, Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat.
The spokesman said that the service was jointly coordinated by the tehsil administration and the Army.
Meanwhile, a statement of the Army issued here said: “The Indian Army and Indian Air Force conducted a joint evacuation operation in Tangdhar. The operation, necessitated due to the closed Sadhna Pass owing to heavy snowfall received in this region during the last three days. The operation was executed on a war footing in order to save precious lives of the locals. At 12 noon, the district administration of Tangdhar approached the Army for assistance to evacuate seven civilian patients including a six-year-old child along with his mother from Tangdhar to Kupwara district hospital.”
The Army statement said that, these patients needed better medical care than the available medical infrastructure at the Sub Divisional Hospital.
“So, the Indian Army immediately swung into action by coordinating the requirement with the Indian Air Force and enabled provision of MI-17 aircraft for evacuation.”