IAF ferries 81 stranded passengers between J-K, Ladakh

Jammu: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday ferried 81 stranded people between the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, a week after airlifting 286 passengers, an official said.

"Eighty-one passengers were airlifted by AN-32, locally known as Kargil Courier. While 53 passengers were airlifted from Kagil to Jammu, 28 others were ferried from Jammu to Kargil," Aamir Ali, Chief Coordinator, Kargil Courier Service, said.

On January 12, a total of 286 stranded passengers of Ladakh were airlifted in C-130, C-17 and AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force between Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

AN-32 Kargil Courier Service operates thrice a week between Kargil and Jammu and twice a week between Kargil and Srinagar due to a closure of the 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway owing to heavy snowfall.

The service had to be cancelled early his year due bad weather and the Ladakh administration had made a request to the Ministry of Defence to deploy C-17, C-130 and AN-32 aircraft to cater to the backlog, he said.