Thousands of tourists were trapped on roads leading to a popular mountain resort in Pakistan
Nearly two dozen people, including families with children who were on their way to a Murree ski resort in Punjab, Pakistan, have frozen to death or suffocated in their cars after being trapped by unusually heavy snowstorm.
In the majority of cases the death was caused by hypothermia, while some of the victims may have suffered asphyxiation from car fumes, authorities said. The list of 22 victims released by rescue officials includes the names of 10 children. According to Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, “around a thousand cars” have been stranded on the highway leading to Murree since Friday night. Military personnel, police and rescue service teams were deployed to evacuate people from their vehicles with local residents providing help to the trapped tourists.
#Rescue1122 The real heroes #MurreeAlert pic.twitter.com/AKWWwFIKiU
— sajjad Abbasi (@sajjadAbbasi4) January 8, 2022
The helicopter rescue operation, however, had to be delayed due to severe weather conditions.
Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid says the military has mobilised to clear roads and rescue thousands still trapped near Murree after at least 21 died in vehicles trapped by snowstorm pic.twitter.com/U5DaM5CR0Z
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 8, 2022
Reacting to the tragedy, the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he was “shocked” and “upset,” adding that he had ordered an inquiry and put in place “strong regulation” to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has said that 16 to 19 people have died in the cars that have been stuck in Murree due to snowfall and subsequent traffic congestion, reported Aaj News on Saturday.
Read more: https://t.co/suruRr0CHG#Muree #Snowfall pic.twitter.com/vrtS9jHQEB
— Business Recorder (@brecordernews) January 8, 2022
“Unprecedented snowfall & rush of ppl proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
While he primarily blamed the weather and local authorities for their failure to prevent the tragedy, the prime minister’s choice of words has evoked a wave of criticism on social media with some users calling it “shocking” and “insensitive.”
Islamabad police continues operation to evacuate stranded tourists. Women, children and senior citizens are the first priority.#Murree pic.twitter.com/lFqYI8CjJN
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) January 8, 2022
Though the tragedy shocked Pakistan, the Murree resort town, founded by the British during the colonial era, regularly sees its roads blocked due to snowfalls and the town’s popularity, with more than a million people visiting annually.
source: RT
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
