SHIMLA: The summer holidays for a Rajasthani family turned into a tragedy today. A 24-year old woman Akangsha died after she slipped and fell into an avalanche- prone Koksar nalla in Lahaul-Spiti in the evening hours on Sunday.
Without knowing the danger of a "mis-adventure", Akangsha along with her parents were walking along the road from Koksar village that runs along the Chandra river. She left the road near Koksar, walked up along the Glacier, ignoring the warning signs, claimed the police.
She then took a slide down on the icy snow for fun from the higher side. She lost her balance, crashed into a nallah and was buried under snow with no trace of her. The parents remained speechless, made frantic cries in the unmanned territory and the tourists who were there, moved up, searched in the snow but to no avail, sources said.
Deputy Commissioner Lahaul-Spiti Neeraj Kumar said the rescue operation was launched jointly by ITBP, Karga unit, police,
fire and district administration as soon as they got the alert around 5.00 PM.
She was retrieved from the accident site, her pulse stopped and she died on the north portal side of the Atal Rohtang Tunnel before she could have been taken to Manali hospital.
As a matter of fact, tourists are not well-versed with danger in sliding or walking in deep snow in the high land mountains. The recent last spell of snow has rendered the danger all the more dangerous and susceptible for avalanches.
The tourists should not be allowed to venture in snow mainly Koksar and Chandra valley, where total accumulated snowfall is in excess of the over 15 ft or even more this season, cautioned locals.
>As the summer tourist season has picked up, more than 3000 tourist vehicles crossed Atal Rohtang Tunnel from Manali into the snow-clad Lahaul valley these days.
Koksar and Granphu have become main attraction for heat-weary tourists in Chandra valley due to its fresh spell and patches of accumulated snow in the Lahaul-Spiti.
Taxi operators are forced or in many cases the ill-informed tourists forced them, to take them to the snow sites risking their life.
Kumar said they have put warning signs all over the areas advising tourists not to venture into the snowy and troubled points, but they sometimes pay no heed to the wiring signs, he said.
