Inter Services Public Relations

In this photograph provided by the Inter Services Public Relations, radical locomotion past vehicles trapped successful a dense snowfall-hit country successful Murree, immoderate 28 miles (45 kilometers) northbound of the superior of Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. Temperatures fell to minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 Fahrenheit) amid dense snowfall astatine Pakistan's upland edifice municipality of Murree overnight, sidesplitting aggregate radical who were stuck successful their vehicles, officials said Saturday. (Inter Services Public Relations via AP)

ISLAMABAD – At slightest 22 people, including 10 children, died successful a fashionable upland edifice municipality successful Pakistan aft being stuck successful their vehicles overnight during a dense snowstorm arsenic temperatures plummeted, officials said Saturday.

Most of the victims died of hypothermia, officials said. Among them was an Islamabad constabulary serviceman and 7 different members of his family, chap constabulary serviceman Atiq Ahmed said.

More than 4 feet (1 meter) of snowfall fell successful the country of the Murree Hills edifice overnight Friday and aboriginal Saturday, trapping thousands of cars connected roadways, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The snowfall was truthful terrible that dense instrumentality brought successful to wide it initially got stuck during the night, said Umar Maqbool, adjunct commissioner for the municipality of Murree. Temperatures fell to minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Officials called successful paramilitary troops and a peculiar subject upland portion to help. By precocious Saturday, thousands of vehicles had been pulled from the snowfall but much than a 1000 were inactive stuck, Ahmed said.

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Most roads starring to the area’s resorts were mostly cleared of snowfall by precocious Saturday, and subject troops were moving to wide the rest, Maqbool said. The subject besides converted army-run schools into alleviation camps wherever they provided structure and nutrient for the tourists who had been rescued.

Emergency officials distributed nutrient and blankets to radical portion they were trapped successful their snowed-in vehicles, but galore died of hypothermia. Others whitethorn person died from c monoxide poisoning aft moving their car heaters for agelong periods of time, said rescue services doc Abdur Rehman. As of precocious Saturday, the decease toll included 10 men, 10 children and 2 women, Rehman said.

In 1 instance, a hubby and woman and their 2 children each died successful their car. In another, 4 young friends died together, helium said.

Located 28 miles (46 kilometers) northbound of the superior of Islamabad, Murree is simply a fashionable wintertime edifice municipality that attracts good implicit a cardinal tourists annually. Streets starring into the municipality are often blocked by snowfall successful winter.

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Associated Press writer Asim Tanveer contributed to this report.

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