New Delhi

''A total of 286 stranded passengers of Ladakh were airlifted on Tuesday in C-130, C-17 and AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force between Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,'' an official said here.

He said 21 passengers were airlifted from Leh to Srinagar, 35 from Srinagar to Kargil, 19 from Kargil to Srinagar, 21 from Jammu to Kargil, 70 from Kargil to Jammu and 120 from Leh to Jammu. Aamir Ali, Chief Coordinator, Kargil Courier Service, said the 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 Srinagar-Kargil road.

The service had to be cancelled due to the recent 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.

Another sortie of the AN-32 Kargil Courier has been planned between Kargil and Srinagar and Kargil and Jammu on Wednesday, Ali added.

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