Islamabad

At least 21 people have died in Pakistan's Murree after their vehicles were stranded following heavy snowfall overnight, local media reported on Saturday.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar declared Murree calamity hit and imposed a state of emergency in hospitals, police stations, administration offices, and rescue services.

Around 1,000 cars were stuck on the hill station while the Punjab chief minister issued instructions for expediting rescue work and providing aid to the stranded tourists, the Dawn newspaper reported

At least nine of the dead were children.

Moreover, entry of cars into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Gailyat was banned, according to the province's chief minister.

Meanwhile, in a video message, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said tourists had flocked to the hill station in such large numbers "for the first time in 15 to 20 years which created a big crisis".

He said Rawalpindi and Islamabad administrations, along with police, had been working to rescue those stranded, while five platoons of the Pakistan Army, as well as Rangers and Frontier Corps, were called on an emergency basis, Dawn said in its report.

The minister said that around 1,000 cars were stuck on the hill station.
According to Dawn, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted heavy snowfall in Murree and Galiyat from January 6 to 9.