Gangtok, Feb. 25 -- Heavy snowfall stranded 324 vehicles, including tourist cars, at 15 Mile on Sikkim's Nathula Pass and Changu Lake route on Tuesday.

The vehicles were caught in the sudden snowfall while returning from the popular tourist destinations. Out of 540 passes issued for the day, 216 vehicles managed to return safely before the intense snowfall began.

In a swift humanitarian effort, the Indian Army helped stranded vehicles and tourists due to excessive snowfall along the JNM Road axis. Approximately 200-250 vehicles and 700-800 tourists were assisted and taken out of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg (JNM) axis between Milestone 13 and Milestone 17 at Gangtok district of Sikkim.

According to the reports, the stranded tourists have...