The Indian Army troops of the Romeo Force on Sunday rescued nine people, including five women, who were stranded in snow in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, a defence spokesperson said.

“Army troops of the Romeo Force braved harsh weather and incessant snow and rain near Dera Ki Gali to rescue the passengers travelling between Thanamandi and Bafliaz,” he said.

The TATA Sumo vehicle in which the passengers were travelling in got stuck due to heavy snowfall which kept on increasing with every passing minute.

On information about the same, he said the troops and the local police stationed at Dera Ki Gali swung into action and reached the site immediately and rescued the people.

Meanwhile, the weatherman has forecast another spell of light to moderate rains and snowfall on the higher reaches during March 12 and 13.

“Light to moderate rains with thunderstorms (hails at isolated places) and snowfall occurred at widespread places of Jammu and Kashmir during the last two days…significant improvement is likely from today (Sunday) and the weather is likely to remain mainly dry till March 11,” a spokesperson of the Meteorological (MeT) Department said.

He said while another spell of wet weather is likely to hit Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and Friday, no major weather activity is expected for Ladakh for the next one week.