22 die after thousands of cars get stuck in snow at Pakistani resort

ISLAMABAD — At least 22 people, including 10 children, died in a popular mountain resort town in Pakistan after being stuck in their vehicles overnight during a heavy snowstorm as temperatures plummeted, officials said Saturday.

Most of the victims died of hypothermia. Among them was an Islamabad police officer and seven other members of his family, fellow police officer Atiq Ahmed said.

More than one metre of snow fell in the area of the Murree Hills resort overnight Friday and early Saturday, trapping thousands of cars on roads, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

The snow was so severe that heavy equipment brought in to clear it initially got stuck during the night, said Umar Maqbool, assistant commissioner for the town of Murree. Temperatures fell to -8 C.

Officials called in paramilitary troops and a special military mountain unit to help. By late Saturday, thousands of vehicles had been pulled from the snow but more than 1,000 were still stuck, Ahmed said.

Most roads leading to the area’s resorts were largely cleared of snow by late Saturday, and soldiers were working to clear the rest, Maqbool said.

The military converted armyrun schools into relief camps where they provided shelter and food for the tourists who had been rescued.

Emergency officials distributed food and blankets to people while they were trapped in their snowed-in vehicles, but many died of hypothermia. Others may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning after running their car heaters for long periods, said rescue services doctor Abdur Rehman. By late Saturday, the death toll included 10 men, 10 children and two women, Rehman said.

In one instance, a husband and wife and their two children all died in their car. In another, four young friends died together, he said.

Murree, 46 kilometres north of the capital Islamabad, is a popular winter resort town that attracts well over one million tourists annually.

Streets leading into the town are often blocked by snow in winter.

INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS VIA AP Some of the vehicles that became trapped during heavy snowfall in Murree, 46 kilometres north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, on Saturday. Temperatures fell to -8 C around the mountain resort.

INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS VIA AP Soldiers take part in the rescue operation around Murree.