More than 20 tourists trapped in their cars have died as a result of heavy snowfall that has isolated thousands of people visiting a hill station in northern Pakistan. Among the dead are nine children, as confirmed by the Rescue Office of the town of Murree (25,000 inhabitants), located in a popular mountain area where the tragedy has occurred, about 65 kilometers northeast of Islamabad, the capital of the country. According to the police, at least six people have frozen to death inside their vehicles in a traffic jam. It is still unknown whether the other victims died of suffocation after inhaling car fumes in the traffic jam.
Up to 100,000 vehicles had arrived in Murree in recent days, where hotels are at full capacity and many visitors have been forced to sleep in their cars. Local residents have spent days distributing food and blankets to tourists trapped in their vehicles, while the Pakistani government ordered the entire closure of the area late on Friday to prevent the arrival of more visitors, as explained by the Interior Minister Rashid Ahmed. Murree, which has been declared a catastrophic zone according to the Pakistani daily
Dawn,
is completely collapsed by the snowfall that began last Tuesday night and attracted tens of thousands of tourists, many of them being trapped on the roads.
Pakistani army soldiers participate in the rescue efforts after the heavy snowfall, this Saturday near Murree.INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS (EFE)
Several Army and emergency services teams have been deployed to the site to help the civil administration in rescue operations, the Interior Minister assured.
Meanwhile, the country's prime minister, Imran Khan, has expressed his shock through various messages on Twitter over the "tragic deaths" of tourists.
Likewise, it has recognized that the local authorities were "completely unprepared" by this "unprecedented snowfall" and has ordered an investigation to respond to what happened.
Pakistan's meteorological department has warned that heavy snowfall in the area will last until Sunday night.
Shocked & upset at tragic deaths of tourists on road to Murree.
Unprecedented snowfall & rush of ppl proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared.
Have ordered inquiry & putting in place strong regulation to ensure prevention of such tragedies.
- Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 8, 2022
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