ISLAMABAD – At least 22 people, including 10 children, have died in a popular mountain resort town in Pakistan stuck in their vehicles overnight Officials gave this information on Saturday due to drop in temperature during heavy snowfall.
Officials said most of the victims died of hypothermia. Among them were an Islamabad police officer and seven other members of his family, said fellow police officer Ateeq Ahmed.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said more than 4 feet of snow fell in the area of the Murree Hills resort on Friday night and early Saturday, trapping thousands of cars. Muri city assistant commissioner Umar Maqbool said the snow was so heavy that heavy equipment brought in to clear it got stuck in the night. The temperature dropped to 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
The authorities called in paramilitary forces and a special military mountain unit for help. Ahmed said thousands of vehicles had been pulled from the snow by late Saturday night, but more than a thousand were still stranded.
Maqbool said most of the roads leading to the resorts in the area were largely cleared of snow by late Saturday night and army personnel were working to clear the rest. The army also converted army-run schools into relief camps where they provided shelter and food for the rescued tourists.
Emergency officials distributed food and blankets to people while they were trapped in their icy vehicles, but many died of hypothermia. Rescue services doctor Abdur Rahman said other people could die from carbon monoxide poisoning after running a car heater for a long time. Rahman said that 10 men, 10 children and two women were among the dead till late Saturday night.
In one instance, a husband and wife and their two children died in the car. In another, four young friends died simultaneously, he said.
Located 28 miles north of the capital of Islamabad, Muri is a popular winter resort town that attracts more than a million tourists annually. In winter the roads leading to the city are often blocked by snow.