Death toll in Pakistan's Murree snowfall surges to 23, thousands of stranded tourists evacuated

The death toll from heavy snowfall in Pakistan's Murree has surged to 23 on Sunday as the forces evacuate over a thousand tourists from the affected area, reported local media.

Hundreds of tourists have been transported to safe localities so far by the Islamabad police and continued the evacuation operation at full pace, ARY News quoted Inspector General Islamabad Muhammad Ahsan Younas.

Younas has inspected the progress of the ongoing evacuation operation for stranded citizens in Murree and more than 1500 police officers were deployed to take part in the evacuation operation that will be continued till the safe return of the last tourists from Murree.

On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar declared Murree calamity hit the area. The Chief Minister also imposed a state of emergency in hospitals, police stations, and rescue services.

The administration had to call Pakistan Army for assistance in evacuations as around 1,000 cars were stuck on the hill station. Buzdar had issued instructions for expediting rescue work and providing aid to the stranded tourists, Dawn reported.

Rawalpindi administration presented a report to Punjab CM. It emphasized that the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had not alerted the district administration about the unprecedented snowfall.

According to the report, Murree received five feet of snowfall, and the roads leading to the hill station were closed on the night of January 6. People were advised to avoid traveling to the area, reported ARY News.

( With inputs from ANI )

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