About 1,000 cars were stuck on Pakistan’s famous Murree hill station.
Lahore:
Pakistan’s popular Murree hill station was declared a disaster-affected area on Saturday after at least 21 people, including nine children, froze to death on their stranded vehicle due to snowfall unprecedented numbers of tourists flock to the picturesque town in Punjab province.
All roads in Murree in Rawalpindi district were blocked after thousands of vehicles entered the city, leaving tourists helpless on the roads.
The Dawn newspaper reported that about 1,000 cars were stuck on the station while Prime Minister Usman Buzdar of Punjab issued an order to expedite rescue and relief work for stranded tourists.
The Punjab government has imposed a state of emergency in hospitals, police stations and administrative offices.
According to a list released by Rescue Organization 1122, at least 22 people died, including 10 children.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was shocked and saddened by the tragic death of the tourist en route to Murree.
“The unprecedented snowfall and rushed ppl process without checking weather conditions left the county administrator unprepared.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said in a video message. He said Murree has “seen a huge influx of tourists after 15-20 years”, and so a crisis has occurred.
Rashid said the government was forced to close the road from Islamabad to Murree.
The commissioners of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the deputy commissioners, the police, are carrying out rescue operations, he said.
“Up to 1,000 vehicles were stuck since the night […] some were evacuated; 16-19 deaths take place in cars. Local people provided food and blankets to the stranded people,” Rashid said.
He said authorities would evacuate 1,000 vehicles on Saturday night, while roads would remain closed to Murree until 9pm on Sunday.
“We have also decided to ban tourists who plan to visit Murree. This is not the time to go to Murree,” the minister was quoted as saying by Geo News.
The Punjab government has declared Murree a disaster-prone area after heavy snow devastated the city. Realizing the chaotic situation and the emergency situation, Punjab Chief Minister Buzdar ordered the opening of government offices and guest houses for stranded tourists.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast heavy snowfall in Murree and Galiyat from January 6 to 9.
Thousands of tourists, including women and children, have been stranded on roads in the area since last night. However, traffic police officials are working to restore traffic flow on the roads.
Taking to Twitter, deputy commissioner Rawalpindi said, “About 23,000 vehicles have been safely evacuated from Murree. Around 1,000 are still trapped.” Opposition political leaders criticized the government’s handling of the influx of tourists and inadequate preparation.
Opposition Leader in Parliament and PML-N Chairman Shehbaz Sharif said he was heartbroken about the tragedy in Murree and questioned who was responsible for the deaths.
“Where has the government been all this time? What arrangements has it made to deal with such a wave? Incompetence is rapidly turning criminal. Pre-arrangement and round-the-clock surveillance are SOPs. normal in the past,” he tweeted.
Referring to the heartbreaking deaths, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said governments “need to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on Galiyat roads”.
“Instead of looking for more tourists, the government should issue warnings for jam-packed roads. This is tragic and avoidable damage that no one intended, but also no one acted on in time. time. Lessons need to be learned,” she added.
“Governments’ job is not only to count tourists, but also to pre-arrange and secure them. […] These deaths were not caused by snowfall but by government negligence,” PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz tweeted.
A large number of people were stranded and flights faced delays as rain continued to affect the federal capital and Rawalpindi for a fourth straight day on Friday.
Due to constant snowfall and traffic congestion in Murree, the county government has imposed a ban on more vehicles.
Snowfall, which began on Tuesday night, continued steadily, attracting thousands of tourists. However, due to the large number of visitors, many families ended up stuck on the road. It is reported that more than 100,000 vehicles have entered the hill station.
In a statement, Transport Director Taimoor Khan said vehicle entry into Murree had been banned from Friday evening onwards and cars were being diverted away from toll booths and other entrances, Dawn reported.
He said since the snow fell on Monday morning, more than 155,000 vehicles had entered Murree and 135,000 had left so far.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
