Not only has the U.S. wintled from snowstorms; but recently Pakistan experienced a great deal of demise due to freezing temps. According to AFP, Pakistan suffered 21 deaths in their cars trying to imbibe the sights of a snowstorm located in Muree; a Pakistini hill town. And even though authorities warned the week prior about bad weather conditions in Murree; hoards of tourists pressed on anyway.
Unfortunately, the attraction caused a massive vehicle pileup; where eight people literally froze to death in their vehicles. By sitting their vehicles so long and inhaling exhaust fumes caused lack of oxygen.
“Unprecedented snowfall & rush of ppl proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared”, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid tweeted.
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He also reported that the ‘tourists, who were stuck in a traffic jam, suffered from a “food crisis” after being stranded’. And it’s no ‘news’ that Pakistan gets bad snow storms, but this one took the cake.
Nonetheless; schools and government buildings opened up to take victims in; as military and first responder teams were dispatched to the scene.
The Snowstorm Affected The Drinking Water
One of the tourist involved in the tragedy stated, “The heavy snowfall caused a traffic jam and the closure of roads.” Continuing, “Roads were also closed due to falling trees in many places.” Furthermore; not only did the snowstorm cause deaths and injuries; but it’s also been reported there’s little to no drinking water due to the freezing conditions.
Another stander reported, “Gas cylinders have run out; and drinking water is not available in most areas. It’s either frozen or the water pipes have been damaged due to severe cold.”
Family Of Five Passed Away
The town of around 30,000 sits on a cluster of steep hillsides; serviced by narrow roads that are frequently clogged even in good weather. Unfortunately; Rescue 1122 said another family of five was also pronounced dead; after the military attempted to rescue thousands of people trapped in their cars near the capital, Islamabad. This was such a horrific experience that might have been avoided if people would have listened to the weather reports and stayed home.
Recently, the U.S. experienced the same fiasco; due to the weather where people were trapped in their vehicles for over 24 hours trying to get home from holiday travel. Hopefully moving forward people will listen to the weather reports before venturing out. It’s just not worth losing your life and putting your family in danger.