Lahore: The number of people who lost their lives due to heavy snowfall in Pakistan’s famous hill tourist destination Muri reached 23 on Sunday. A girl child died of severe cold and pneumonia. He could not be taken to the hospital on time. A large number of tourists had reached Muri town of Rawalpindi in Punjab province and in the meantime there was heavy snowfall due to which vehicles got stuck and the administration was helpless. In this incident 23 people including 10 children died. Sources said that the four-year-old girl died in Jhika Gali.
He had a severe cold and pneumonia. He told that he could not reach the hospital on time due to which he died. Rescue officials told Geo News that at least 23 people have died so far while vehicles are stuck in several feet of snow. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed the death toll in a statement. The minister said the situation can only be termed as a “natural calamity” and there has been “excessive snowfall” in the region.
He said that the cars could not be killed due to snowfall, so people started walking on foot and they could not walk due to snow. According to the minister, the cause of death is ‘suffocation’. Prime Minister’s aide on political communication Shahbaz Gill said when it started snowing heavily, people left their cars on the roads and went to take shelter in hotels, leading to traffic jams. “The administration is trying to clear the vehicles from the roads so that the way can be cleared,” he said.
Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the unprecedented snowfall and the arrival of a record number of tourists made it impossible for the local administration to handle the situation. He said that the process of evacuating people from the affected areas is going on and the entire country has expressed grief over the loss of precious human lives.
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The Punjab Police on Sunday said that more than 500 families were rescued and taken to safer places in the last 24 hours in the disaster-hit district. “All the tourists were rescued and taken to safer places before nightfall,” a Punjab Police spokesperson said. The Express Tribune has reported that Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar will visit the snow-affected areas on Sunday.
Buzdar said, “Every Pakistani is saddened by the tragic incident in Murree. The Punjab government has full sympathies with the families of the deceased.” The Meteorological Department had issued an alert on January 5 that due to heavy snowfall, roads may be closed in Mari, Galiyat, Nathiyagali, Kagan, Naran and other areas from the afternoon of January 6 to 9. According to ‘Dawn’ newspaper, despite this, the concerned departments did not take any steps.
Murree received 6.5 inches of snowfall on January 5 (Wednesday). After this, 8.5 inches of snowfall the next day, while 16.5 inches of snowfall from the morning of January 7 (Friday) to Saturday morning. An official of the Meteorological Department said that normally there is so much snowfall in Murree.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that he was shocked and saddened by the incident of death of tourists on the way to death. Khan tweeted, “The district administration could not prepare due to the heavy snowfall and the arrival of tourists in large numbers without knowing the weather conditions. An inquiry has been ordered and strict rules are being made to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again.
The Punjab government on Saturday declared Mari as a disaster-hit area after heavy snowfall. Opposition political leaders have criticized the government for its handling of the influx of tourists and inadequate preparation.
Leader of Opposition in Qaumi (National) Assembly and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif said he was saddened by the tragedy in Muri and questioned who was responsible for the deaths. Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and vice-president of PML-N, alleged that the snowfall resulted in the deaths due to the negligence of the government. (agency)