Expressway (N-75) from Murree to Islamabad has been cleared for traffic. Image: File
GALIYAT: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrrukh Habib on Sunday said the rescue and relief operation was underway to evacuate stranded tourists in Murree.
“Expressway (N-75) from Murree to Islamabad has been cleared for traffic,” he said talking to local news channel.
Read more: Army starts evacuating tourists stranded in Murree
He said rescue teams were busy to provide food, warm clothes, blankets and other necessities to the stranded tourists.
Pakistan Army troops have checked all stranded vehicles in Murree and shifted the affected people to relief camps, said media wing of armed forces.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the Military Engineers troops and dozers were working to clear snow on Jheeka Gali-Kuldanna and Kuldanna-Barian roads.
Ten stranded dead bodies were also recovered from the vehicles. About 3,000 tourists were rescued in assistance with locals and Rescue 1122 and they were provided with food, water and first aid.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has again urged people to avoid visits to hilly areas in these days as all roads leading to Murree would remain closed till Sunday 9:00 pm.
Read more: Murree Live Updates: 21 people died as government calls Pakistan Army to rescue tourists
He said local residents could go to their houses by showing their Identity cards. The interior minister said the Punjab government had opened all rest houses to help the stranded tourists in Murree.
At least 21 people died in an enormous traffic jam caused by tens of thousands of visitors thronging a Pakistani hill town to see unusually heavy snowfall, authorities said Saturday.
The people died after heavy snow trapped them in their vehicles as tens of thousands of visitors thronged the hill town.
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