At least 200 tourists, including women and children, were safely evacuated on Thursday evening after becoming stranded in the snow at a high-altitude resort outside of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) capital.
Hundreds of people flocked to the 9,300-foot-high Pir Chinasi resort on Thursday to take advantage of the season’s first snowfall, according to divisional commissioner Masoodur Rehman.
When the snowfall intensified, the majority of them were unable to return to Muzaffarabad via the snow-covered road, and they became stuck up there, he said.
After some local tourists informed Muzaffarabad-based media personnel and police about the situation, rescue teams in 4×4 vehicles were dispatched to the area to transport the stranded tourists to safety, according to the commissioner.
Pir Chinasi is 34 kilometres from Muzaffarabad and can be reached in under an hour in a typical 4×2 vehicle.
According to Mr. Rehman, the teams transported the stranded tourists in their 4×4 vehicles to a state-run guesthouse in Sarran, which is located at an altitude of 7,540 feet and five kilometers from Pir Chinasi.
He claimed that after they left Sarran, they were all transported to Muzaffarabad.
According to the commissioner, 30 drivers have been given safe overnight lodging in the Sarran rest house so they can return to Pir Chinasi on Friday when the weather is expected to clear.
Pavan Manzoor is an experienced content writer , editor and social media handler along with a track record of youth-oriented activities in Pakistan and abroad. She was selected as a fully-funded delegate as a leadership fellow in Turkey. She also led a team of 5 volunteers at the week-long Young Professionals Fellowship in Maldives. She is also a member of the Youth Standing Committee on Higher Education.
