Three persons who had taken ill in the snow-bound Bara Bhangal village in Kangra district were airlifted to Dharamshala by the state government’s helicopter on Tuesday. Situated at a height of more than 14,000 feet, the village remains cut off from the rest of the state for about six months because of snow.

As Kalpana Devi, her father Jiya Lal and another villager Chuhad Singh needed immediate medical attention, which was not available in the village, the deputy commissioner had received a request to airlift them.

A team headed by Additional District Magistrate Sandeep Kumar and comprising doctors and veterinarians, meanwhile, visited the village and provided life-saving medicines and other essential commodities.

There were reports of rabies cases in the village that had claimed lives of seven cows and one goat recently.

Deputy Commissioner R S Gupta said two teams of doctors and staff from the health and the animal husbandry departments were sent to Bara Bhangal via Holy in Chamba district more than a week ago. Gupta said suspected patients of rabies were being treated. “Almost all villagers have been already given anti-rabies dose,” he said, adding that the second dose would be given on November 28. Besides, anti-rabies vaccines were injected to 365 animals, said Gupta.