Murree Snow Pakistan: Heavy snow leaves 21 people stranded in their cars dead in Murree
Murree: As many as 21 people, including children, died as heavy snow trapped them inside their vehicles in Pakistan's Murree mountainous resort town.
The town was declared a calamity hit on Saturday.
Around 1,000 cars were stuck on the hill station while the Punjab chief minister issued instructions for expediting rescue work and providing aid to the stranded tourists, reports Dawn News.
Entry of cars into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Gailyat region has been banned by officials.
According to a list issued by Rescue 1122, 21 people died, including nine children, reports Dawn News.
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
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, in a video message, was quoted as saying by Dawn News that tourists had flocked to the hill station in such large numbers "for the first time in 15 to 20 years which created a big crisis".
Meanwhile, the military is trying to rescue people trapped in the calamity-hit town.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan reacted to the development and tweeted: " 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."
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