413 pilgrims on Kinnaur Kailsah Trek rescued via zipline as cloudbursts wash away bridge in Himachal

Over 400 pilgrims have been rescued from the Kinnaur Kailash trek in Himachal Pradesh after two makeshift bridges on the trek route were washed away, leaving several tourists stranded. Incidents of cloudbursts and heavy rains were reported in Kinnaur, with a bridge over the Tangling drain being washed away on Wednesday morning. The rescue operations are being led by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). On Wednesday morning, when Kinnaur District Administration received a distress call about stranded pilgrims on the trek route, they alerted the ITBP, who then deployed a rescue team. Mountaineering and RRC (Rope Rescue and Climbing) equipment, including essential gear for climbing, traversing glaciers, and performing rescue operations, like mountaineering boots, crampons, ice axes, ropes, harnesses, and crevasse rescue equipment, was sent off. ITBP shared visuals from rescue operations on social media X (formerly Twitter). Pilgrims can be seen ziplining and being moved to a safer location. ITBP used the rope rescue traverse crossing technique, as seen in one of the videos. Responding to a requisition from DC Kinnaur, #ITBP has deployed a rescue team under AC/GD Sameer with mountaineering & RRC equipment after two makeshift bridges on the Kinner Kailash Yatra route were washed away due to incessant rains, leaving several yatris stranded