More than 100,000 tourist vehicles entered the hill station of the town of Murree yesterday and about a thousand were stranded.
At least 16 tourists were found dead in their vehicles because of the intense cold and several more were stranded after a snowfall on a road leading to a popular mountain area, about 40 miles from Islamabad.
More than 100,000 tourist vehicles entered the hill station of the town of Murree yesterday, “Of which more than 1,000 are still stranded and are expected to be evacuated tonight,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in a statement.
“16 to 19 people died in their vehicles last night,” Rashid said.
The rescue operation continues and, weather permitting, helicopters will be dispatched to the area to evacuate people still stuck because of the snowfall, while police and several army platoons are working on the ground, he said. the minister.
The Punjab provincial government said in a statement that more than 23,000 stranded vehicles were evacuated from the area last night.
This amount of tourists who traveled to Murree yesterday is higher than the number of people who go there in years, “which created a crisis”Rashid said.
Authorities have ordered the road leading to the popular mountain destination closed until tomorrow night. Only those vehicles that are carrying blankets or food for stranded or emergency tourists can enter the area.
Videos on social media, recorded by tourists themselves, show people walking through heavy snow in search of safe places, abandoning their vehicles.
According to Pakistani media, at least seven people from the same family died in their cars.
Due to its proximity to the Pakistani capital, Murree is a popular destination for tourists during the weekend, especially in winter when the hills are covered in a blanket of snow.
Locals have participated in relief operations by providing blankets and food to stranded tourists.
The Pakistani Army press office reported in a statement that the troops are assisting the civil administration in rescuing the tourists, and that they have dispatched a team of engineers and machinery to clear the tracks of snow.
According to the national meteorological department, about a meter of snow was registered from January 3 until last night in Murree, and temperatures below zero degrees Celsius.
“It was a heavy snowfall due to the intense weather and last night was peak, but it will continue until tomorrow,” the head of the meteorology department, Muhammed Riaz, told Efe.
At least a dozen flights to and from the city of Lahore were canceled in the last 24 hours, while another nine flights were diverted to other cities after they were denied permission to land at the airport.
“Just yesterday three Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Lahore were diverted to Islamabad and three flights to and from Lahore were canceled,” Abdullah Hafeez, a PIA spokesman, told EFE.
Pakistan has experienced intermittent rains for the past four days, leading to the suspension and diversion of flights. Heavy snowfalls have also caused road closures in various parts of the country, including Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. (I)
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