At least 22 people have died in Pakistan's picturesque hill resort Murree, including 10 children, after heavy overnight snowfall locked tourists in their automobiles, with many freezing to death and others presumably dying from asphyxiation from car fumes.
At least 22 people have killed, according to Rescue 1122, a Pakistani emergency agency that serves the Punjab Province, including an assistant sub-inspector of Islamabad police and seven members of his family.
Usman Buzdar, the Punjab chief minister, has declared Murree a disaster-stricken area and announced a state of emergency in hospitals, police stations, government offices, and the Rescue 1122 services.
Buzdar has ordered that government offices and rest facilities be opened to stranded travellers.
On January 5, the Pakistan Meteorological Department projected severe snowfall in Murree from January 6 to 9, with a warning that heavy snowfall in the hill area would likely lead to road closures.
While authorities blamed the disaster on a large influx of visitors who ignored weather forecasts, others believe government personnel were unable to deal with an emergency scenario.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the interior minister, claimed in a video message that tourists had rushed to Murree in such large numbers "for the first time in 15 to 20 years," causing a "major issue," with over 1,000 cars stopped on the hill station.
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