Guwahati | Around 70 people, including tourists and locals, have been rescued from Sela Pass following heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, a defence spokesperson said here on Friday.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) went beyond its mandate of keeping the roads open for traffic and carried out the operation to evacuate approximately 70 tourists and locals stranded at the Sela Pass, he said.

The incident took place when some vehicles got stranded at the Pass on the night of February 22/23 and the BRO mobilised its men and equipment to rescue them.

The team braved out the chilling cold with temperatures going below -10 degree celsius to save precious lives throughout the night and were able to move them to safety by Friday morning, the spokesperson said.

BRO's Project Vartak has deployed men and personnel round-the-clock at not only Sela Pass, but other important roads in the region as well to keep it accessible for traffic at all times, the spokesperson said.