Tens of families traveling from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to Chitral have been stranded near the Lowari tunnel since last night due to heavy snowfall.
According to reports, about 12 to 15 vehicles carrying over 100 passengers, including women and children, have been trapped in heavy snowfall for more than ten hours. They spent the night in their vehicles in the extreme weather, but the local administration did not carry out rescue operations despite receiving information.
In multiple videos on social media, travelers have complained of negligence and mismanagement on the administration’s part.
“We left from Islamabad yesterday and got stuck at Lowari tunnel,” a tourist said in a viral video.
He said that tens of passengers including children remained trapped in their vehicles the entire night without any help.
“We called the police and the DC office several times, but no one picked up the phone,” he said, adding that the administration only reached the spot at 11 am in the morning.
Meanwhile, the district administration started the rescue operation at noon to clear off the roads. Levies officials have also arrived at the scene to assist with rescue operations.
He demanded the government to take action against the administration as another Murree-like tragedy could have happened due to their negligence.
Since most of the concerned Government departments do not answers the public requests / tele-calls for emergency needs, so it is strongly recommended that the Government setup a central emergency call center with sufficient staff working 24/7 which will be responsible to contact and convey the emergency situation in the concerned complaint areas.