ISLAMABAD: The rescue officials have shifted all the stranded tourists to safer places. Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt- Gen. Akhtar Nawaz said that 371 tourists have been shifted to the relief camps set of Pakistan Army before the fall of Saturday night.
He said Pakistan Army has been worked together with the civil administration in the evacuation operation. Almost 90 per cent of roads in Murree have been reopened for traffic that were blocked due to heavy snowfall, he added.
Lt-Gen. Akhtar Nawaz said the Control Room, under the supervision of Commissioner Rawalpindi, has also been established at Murree to provide assistance to stranded tourists and ensure immediate response to people in case of emergency.
He said the emerging situation was very challenging and the National Disaster Management Authority was taking every possible measure to normalize the situation in Murree and its adjoining calamity hit areas.
About 22 tourists, stranded in their vehicles due to heavy snowfall, have died of the extreme weather in Murree on Friday night in the absence of a rescue work.
The death toll has soared to 22 while a rescue and evacuation operation is underway in the hilly area. The deceased tourists hailed from Karachi, Lahore, Mardan and other cities.
According to a report on the Murree tragedy presented to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar by the Rawalpindi administration, more than 100,000 vehicles entered Murree over the past three days. 12,000 of them exited the hill station while the rest got stuck.
Murree has received five feet of snowfall last week and the roads leading to the hill station were closed on the night of Jan 6 with advisory for people to avoid travelling to the area yet tourists in the large number reached there.
