MANSEHRA: Over 400 students and teachers, stranded in the mountainous Siri Paye meadow of Shogran area here, were rescued in the early hours of Monday as the area recorded the heaviest snowfall of the season.

`The bumpy four-wheel track connecting Shogran tourist resort to Siri Paye was blocked to traffic due to the heavy snowfall leaving over 400 students and their guardians stranded. We managed to safely rescue all of them,` Rescue 1122 district emergency officer Abrar Ali told reporters.

He said Siri Paye, situated over10,000 feet above sea level, and its surrounding areas received the heaviest snowfall of the season on Sunday night, which continued sporadically until 9 am the next morning.

Mr Ali said that students from Khyber Medical University Peshawar and the COMSATS University Wah Cantt campus were caught in the snowstorm and remained stranded in the highest mountainous parts of the region.

`We initiated the rescue operation around 9pm on Sunday night, which continued until morning, successfully rescuing all 400 maleand female students and their teachers,` he said.

Mr Ali said two female students had suffered from suffocation due to the low oxygen levels at such a high altitude, but none of the other students experienced serious health issues or complications.

`Officials from the tehsil municipal administration and the Kaghan Development Authority also participated in the operation. Our ambulances transported the stranded students to safer locations from where they continued to leave for their respective destinations, he said.-Nisar Ahmad Khan