Murree: Tourists trapped Sank in Heavy snow grave

 Murree: Tourists trapped Sank in Heavy snow grave

Heavy snowfall in and around the Pakistani resort of Murree on Friday night proved to be a death knell for about two dozen people and rescue operations continued throughout the day on Saturday in Guldana and Barian areas.

Heavy snowfall caused trees and power poles to

Heavy snowfall in and around the Pakistani resort of Murree 

fall on the roads, and locals rushed to rescue workers by knocking on the windows of parked cars and trying to get medical help. Was also done.

Lack of oxygen due to prolonged sitting in such vehicles, closing the windows and turning on the heater has so far confirmed 22 deaths while dozens of tourists have been provided first aid by rescue workers. ۔

Sania Dawood was also among the tourists who were stranded in Murree after the snowfall. In an interview with BBC correspondent Sehar Baloch, Sania Dawood said that she had left for Murree on Friday night with her husband and children.

"We are at a distance of 200 meters from Jhika Chowk at the moment," he said on Saturday morning. There is a line for the washroom and only cars can be seen stuck in the distance on the road. We took the children for a short walk in the morning to have breakfast, but now it turns out that the gas has also run low. The car can't get out because of the slippery road and now we can't get out anywhere.

Rehan Abbasi, who was on his way to his hometown of Beirut on Friday night, said he had been stuck in the snow since 6pm on Friday.

"I'm still stuck in the snow," he told the BBC on Saturday. People's cars have run out of fuel. It is very cold. I have spent time like this in my car. Just imagine that I am buried in an ice grave. I was lucky to survive. "

Mehtab Abbasi, a resident of Murree, told the BBC's Humaira Kanwal that he had never seen such a situation in his life.

He said that he was present at the main highway in Sunny Bank while his vehicle had been stuck two kilometers behind Guldana since yesterday.

He said that when he left the barracks at 11:30 am yesterday, it had started to snow. It started snowing at 12 noon on Friday. I got stuck in traffic and got out of the car two kilometers behind Guldana and started walking. The snowfall has stopped after six o'clock in the morning and now there is light sunshine.

Mehtab said the administration was nowhere to be seen at night, but now aid workers are trying to reach tourists trapped in vehicles on foot.

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Mehtab says that hotels have opened in the central areas but due to heavy traffic, tourists are in places where it is difficult for them to reach here.

"At the moment, there are difficulties in moving the machinery back and forth," he said. A highway vehicle is stuck on Sunny Bank and two machines are stuck in front of it.

According to Mehtab Abbasi, there is no electricity in Murree at present and power lines have fallen in some places.

Heavy snowfall murree Some cars are knocking, but there is no response

Some cars are knocking, but there is no response."

A local man involved in the relief effort told the BBC's Farhat Javed that locals had accommodated tourists in their homes, while people were being accommodated in hotels as well as at the Daftar Islam Academy. Accommodation has been provided to tourists.

At night, the administration's focus was on the central tourist destination. Most of the area of ​​Kaldana is in the forest. The administration reached there in the morning and I am there myself. Local people are volunteering to help with the administration.

According to journalist Zubair Khan, Gul Hassan, a person who is currently involved in the relief work on the outskirts of Murree Road, said that there were some vehicles which were knocking on the door but there was no response from there.

"I have identified two such vehicles," he said. Authorities have been notified, but no response was received when the vehicles were knocked down.

Mohammad Mohsin, another participant in the relief effort, said: "We feel that the situation is getting worse.

"Aid workers have been busy since morning and locals are also busy, but we think these activities are minimal," he said. We need to accelerate relief efforts.

Hearing for the first time that so many people died in Murree.

Kazim Abbasi, owner of a hotel in Murree, told the BBC's Humaira Kanwal that he had provided accommodation to ten families the previous day, but left the hotel despite being stopped in the morning.

He says the snowfall will start again at 5 pm when the snow has already fallen up to five feet and the distance which was 10 minutes on foot is now two hours and there is no question of driving.

"It was already known that there would be heavy snowfall and we had appealed to the tourists on our social media pages to come on Sunday or Monday if Murree is to come but even now we are hearing that people are walking from the toll plaza. Trying to get to Murree.

Referring to the relief efforts, Kazim said, "The only solution is for the agencies that are working to bring in a shovel-carrying force."

According to Kazim, in the past, whenever there was snowfall in Murree, the Tehsil Municipal Committee used to have a shovel-carrying force. The town was cleared by these shovel-carrying force personnel, who worked with them on the highways.

Kazim says such a situation had arisen here three years ago but not a single life was lost in Murree and that was due to the agencies' precautionary measures against the weather.

"Whenever it snows in Murree, Chhika Gali, Mall Road, GPO Chowk, Guldana, Cart Road (bus stand goes from Sunny Bank). We are hearing that so many people have died in Murree.

What to do if you get stuck in heavy snow?

Warnings are issued around the world before the snow falls that the weather in the area could be bad at any time so stay home but the alert in Murree was delayed.

Environmentalist Tawfiq Pasha Meraj told the BBC's Sehar Baloch that in case of snowfall, the administration should have closed the dying roads first.

Here are some precautionary measures that can be taken to avoid further damage to tourists trapped in the snow:

People who are stuck in cars with their children or family should turn off their car to save petrol or diesel until help arrives.

Tourists trapped in snow in Murree: 'Sank in snow grave

Murree: Tourists trapped Sank in Heavy snow grave

Park the car on the side of the road with the help of someone and not in the middle of the road, put iron chains on the tires and if possible do not run the heater to keep the car warm.

People also turn on the heater in a crowded car, which increases the chances of suffocation in the car and makes it difficult to breathe. If you have two or three people in a car, then the heat of human life will keep the car warm from inside.

In no case do not leave your car on foot as you cannot predict the weather conditions beyond where you are standing. It is better to sit in the car than to be alone on the road.