Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing heavy snowfall this month, turning the state into a winter wonderland but has also brought many miseries to locals and tourists. Many people recently have experienced the perils of driving on icy mountain roads as their vehicles skid out of control. One such video doing rounds shows a small truck rolling down a snowy road in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali and slipping into the Solang Valley.

The footage shows the truck starting to slip on the icy road while it was snowing heavily in the town. The driver immediately jumped out of the moving truck, narrowly avoiding a tragic fall. He initially tried to stop the vehicle, but even he could be seen slipping on the road. Within a couple of seconds, the truck fell into the Valley.

A similar incident took place earlier this month where a Mahindra Thar skidded off a snow-covered road near near Atal Tunnel, which connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti Valley. The driver managed to jump out of the moving car.

A fresh spell of heavy snowfall in Manali this week left at least 1,000 vehicles stuck for hours between Solang and Atal Tunnel. The Kullu police launched a rescue operation and rescued around 5,000 tourists. Visuals showed officials assisting travellers in navigating their vehicles amid heavy snowfall.

“Due to fresh snowfall, about 1,000 tourists and other vehicles were stuck in Solang Nala. There were about 5,000 tourists in these vehicles. The vehicles and tourists have been rescued by Kullu Police and taken to safe places. The rescue operation is still going on,” the police said in a post on X.

Over 200 roads, including three national highways, have been closed in Himachal Pradesh. Out of these, 123 are in Shimla, 36 in Lahaul and Spiti, and 25 in Kullu. Additionally, over 170 transformers were disrupted, affecting power supply across the state.

Shimla:

As many as 81 tourists stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti Valley due to closure of roads after heavy snowfall have been shifted to safer places, police said on Monday.

Meanwhile, over 650 roads, including five national highways, in the state remained closed for vehicular movement on Monday following several avalanches and landslides caused by incessant rain and snow for the past three days, according to the state emergency operation centre.

The 81 tourists stranded in Spiti Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district were on Sunday night shifted to and accommodated in different hotels and homestays there, the police said in a statement.

About 290 roads are blocked in this tribal district and several areas are without electricity for the past two days, the statement said.

Heavy rain and snow in Lahaul and Spiti has also disrupted the mobile network, it added.

On Sunday, an avalanche hit Dara Waterfall near Jasrat village in Lahaul and Spiti, obstructing the flow of Chenab and triggering an alert in the adjoining area, officials had said.

They had advised the residents of adjoining villages of Jobrang, Rapi, Jasrath, Tarand and Tharot to stay cautious and inform the nearest police post in case of emergency.

Meanwhile, cold wave conditions continued across the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)