Islamabad: The Pakistan government has formed a committee to investigate the causes that led to the deaths of at least 22 tourists after they were trapped in their vehicles during a heavy snowstorm in the hill station of Murree.
The provincial government of Punjab announced the formation of the five-member committee which will “complete the inquiry and determine responsibility within seven days,” said Azhar Mashwani, Punjab chief minister’s point man for digital media.
What will the committee probe?
The committee will investigate whether the relevant departments, including district administration, police, national and provincial disaster management authorities coordinated to formulate a joint plan of action to prevent a crisis following the severe weather warnings issued by the Met office. The probe will also uncover whether travel advisories were issued, warning people not to travel to Murree and whether any measures were taken to regulate the influx of tourists and traffic inflow into the resort town of Murree.
The committee will question the authorities why they did not stop the entry of vehicles into Murree after the town reached its parking capacity. The official will also ascertain whether a contingency plan was prepared to deal with a crisis situation, and the placement of snow-removing machinery, vehicle-lifters and snowmobiles as well as the deployment of traffic police and coordination with emergency services such as Rescue 1122.
CM vows action against those responsible
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar visited the affected areas on Sunday and announced financial assistance of Rs17.6 million for the families of the victims. He also vowed action against those responsible for this negligence. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief over the tragedy and ordered an investigation to prevent such incidents in future.
Massive rescue efforts in Murree
The Pakistan military and government conducted massive relief operations on the weekend to rescue the trapped families and cleared most of the roads by Sunday, officials said. The army-run schools, air force bases and government buildings were converted into relief camps to provide shelter, food and blankets to hundreds of rescued tourists.
At least 22 people, including 10 children, died in Murree after being stuck in their vehicles overnight in freezing temperatures. Thousands of vehicles were stranded in and around Murree since Friday as an unusually high number of tourists headed to the tourist destination to see the snowfall despite weather alerts. The local administration was caught off guard with little coordination among rescue services and disaster management authorities as more than 100,000 vehicles entered the town against a parking capacity of around 5,000 vehicles.
The tourists stuck in Murree also complained of two to four times high prices of food items and lodgings during the snowfall and requested the government to prevent price gouging and keep a strict check on hotels and restaurants that do not follow quality standards.