The rescue of around 1,000 stranded tourists from Sikkim's Lachen began on Wednesday after the army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored connectivity along a damaged stretch near Taramchu, officials said.
Tourists are being moved in batches along the challenging Lachen-Dongkya La-Shiv Mandir-Zero Point-Yumthang corridor to ensure safe and smooth transit, they said.
Mangan's District Collector Anant Jain and SP LB Chettri were supervising the rescue operation on the ground, they added.
Road connectivity to Lachen had been cut off for several days after a section near the Taram Chu bridge caved in, leaving tourists stranded in the high-altitude region.
The Mangan district administration had said that the route was temporarily closed due to the damaged road and advised all stranded tourists to remain in Lachen in view of continuous rain and safety concerns.
Later, the number of tourists stranded in Lachen rose to 1,000 from an initial 100, while connectivity between Chungthang and Lachen was completely cut off. Continuous snowfall along the alternative route through Dongkya La also halted the evacuation process.
Sources in the tourism and civil aviation department of Sikkim had said that efforts were underway to evacuate the stranded passengers.