Heroes at 18,000 feet: HRTC staff brave gorge to rescue crash victims

Around 8 am near Tanglang La Pass on the Manali-Leh highway, HRTC driver Kamlesh Kumar and conductor Pankaj Rawat encountered a harrowing sight. From the roadside at 18,000 feet, they spotted a jeep that had plunged nearly 200m into a snow-choked gorge. Inside were two critically injured men, barely clinging to life.

With oxygen levels low and no one willing to attempt the dangerous descent, Kamlesh and Pankaj took charge. Using ropes and sleeping bags from their bus, they fashioned makeshift harnesses and along with help from their passengers, rappelled into the icy gorge — risking falling rocks, avalanches and altitude sickness.

On reaching the wreckage, they stabilised the victims — one with compound leg fractures, the other in shock. They crafted a stretcher using sleeping bags and bus rods, then began the gruelling climb back. Once at the top, the duo and passengers carried the injured men to the bus, where they administered first aid before rushing them 50 km to the Army Hospital in Pang.

Doctors confirmed serious bilateral leg fractures, prompting the Indian Army to airlift both patients to Leh for advanced treatment.

Ayush Upadhyay, Regional Manager, HRTC Keylong Depot, praised the duo’s bravery, calling it a testament to HRTC’s emergency training. He announced plans to recommend them for government honours. Lahaul MLA Anuradha Rana called them “guardian angels of the high mountains” and urged for formal rescue training for all transport staff operating in Himalayan terrain.

In an unforgiving landscape, Kamlesh Kumar and Pankaj Rawat proved that courage and compassion can overcome even the highest odds — true heroes on the roof of the world.