Deadly snowstorm traps hundreds of tourists in their cars in Pakistan

  January 09, 2022   News ID 5555
Deadly snowstorm traps hundreds of tourists in their cars in Pakistan
At least 22 people died in freezing temperatures when tens of thousands of visitors thronged a Pakistani hill town to see unusually heavy snowfall, sparking a major traffic jam, authorities said Saturday.

Islamabad, SAEDNEWS: Police reported that at least eight people had frozen to death in their cars, while it was not immediately clear if others may have died from asphyxiation after inhaling exhaust fumes in snow-bound vehicles.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said the military had mobilised to clear roads and rescue thousands still trapped near Murree, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of the capital, Islamabad.

Videos shared on social media showed cars packed bumper-to-bumper, with one-metre-high (three-foot) piles of snow on their roofs.

"The heavy snowfall caused a traffic jam and the closure of roads," Babar Khan, a tourist who was stranded for hours, told AFP by phone.

"Roads were also closed due to falling trees in many places" (Source: FRANCE 24).


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