22 killed as heavy snowfall blocks road to mountain resort town of Murree
Pakistan military also cleared many roads leading to Murree by Sunday evening and rescued hundreds of tourists after the tragic deaths in Murree.
At least 22 people have died after being stuck in their vehicles when temperatures fell to -8C during heavy snowfall in Pakistan.
Eight of those who died were from the family of an Islamabad police officer. The cause of death in most cases was hypothermia, officials said.
Photos and videos on social media showed cars trapped bumper to bumper buried in snow.
Thousands of vehicles were pulled from the snow on Saturday, interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said. More than a thousand were still stuck in the area on Saturday night.
On Sunday, Pakistan Army troops rescued and shifted hundreds of stranded people to the relief camps set up by army and the local administration. Snowbound drivers and their passengers were given blankets and warm food.
“Where machinery can’t reach, troops have been moved and they are clearing traffic and opening roads,” reads Pakistani military statement.
Tens of thousands of people arrived in Murree on Thursday and Friday to see the snow, despite appeals by authorities to postpone their plans because of bad weather and roadblocks.
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed shock over the “tragic deaths” of the tourists, noting how the snowfall and the “rush of [people] proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared”.
“Have ordered inquiry and putting in place strong regulations to ensure prevention of such tragedies,” Khan said in a tweet.