Lagatar24 Desk
Islamabad, Jan 9: The death toll from heavy snowfall in Pakistan’s Murree has climbed to 23 on Sunday as the forces evacuated over a thousand visitors from the devastated area.
Hundreds of tourists have been transported to safe places so far by the Islamabad police and continued the evacuation operation at full pace. More than 1500 police officers were deployed to take part in the evacuation operation that is underway.
Murree, a prominent hill destination in Punjab province, was declared a calamity-hit area on Saturday after at least 21 people, including nine children, died in their stalled vehicles owing to unexpected snowfall and a surge of tourists.
After thousands of vehicles entered Murree in Rawalpindi area, all routes were closed, leaving tourists stranded on the roadways. Around 1,000 cars were trapped on the high station, according to the Dawn newspaper, and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar issued instructions to speed up rescue efforts and provide assistance to the stranded tourists.
The Punjab government has imposed a state of emergency in hospitals, police stations and administration offices.
“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,” PM Imran Khan said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted heavy snowfall in Murree and Galiyat from January 6 to 9.
