No less than 16 vacationers died in freezing temperatures after being stranded of their automobiles in northern Pakistan, the place 1000’s had flocked to benefit from the snow, officers mentioned on Saturday (January 8).
With some 1,000 automobiles nonetheless stranded, the federal government has declared Murree, 64 km (40 miles) northeast of the capital Islamabad, a calamity hit space.
“The native individuals are delivering blankets and meals. Now we’re solely permitting automobiles carrying blankets and meals in the direction of Murree. All roads resulting in Murree have been sealed,” Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan’s inside minister mentioned a video message.
The minister mentioned that round 1,000 automobiles had been caught within the hill station, a city elevated from the close by space, confirming that “16 to 19 individuals have died inside their automobiles.”
Military platoons and paramilitary forces have been deployed to assist the civil administration in rescue operations, he mentioned.
Late on Friday the federal government introduced the closure of all roads resulting in the station to cease any additional inflow of the vacationers.
Snowfall, which started on Tuesday night time, continued at common intervals, attracting 1000’s of vacationers. Because of large numbers of tourists, many households ended up getting stranded on roads.
Native media reported that over 100,000 automobiles entered the hill station.
Officers have given no phrase on the causes of the deaths.