Sambalpur: The Odisha Police rescued 17 tourists from Chhattisgarh who were stranded on the Gandhamardhan Hills due to continuous heavy rainfall, in an overnight operation, officials said Thursday.
There were 13 women and four men in the group, who came here from Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district of Chhattisgarh, they said.
The tourists had begun their trek from Nrusinghnath in Bargarh district to Harishankar in neighbouring Bolangir district Wednesday evening, said Niranjan Barik, a police officer engaged in the operation.
Due to inclement weather and poor visibility, they lost their way and were stranded on an elevated terrain overnight, he said.
Upon receiving information, the Bargarh district police began a rescue operation, deploying a team of the District Voluntary Force with necessary food supplies, first-aid kits, and rescue gear, he said.
The team navigated through challenging terrain and reached the stranded group in the early hours, he added.
“The tourists were provided with food and preliminary medical attention on-site. They were then safely escorted back to the base camp at Nrusinghnath, where a medical team further examined their condition,” the officer said.
“All tourists were found to be stable. A few were administered minor medication by doctors as precautionary measures,” he said.
SP Prahlad Sahai Meena personally supervised the rescue operation, while IGP (Northern Range) Himanshu Lal visited the site to oversee the rescue efforts, he said.
PTI
