ISLAMABAD – A five-member committee set up by the Punjab government on Tuesday launched probe into the deaths of 23 people, including 10 children, in Murree last weekend.
A number of people, who had flocked to the hill station to enjoy snowfall, were trapped in their cars on roads after the region received more than 4 feet (1 meter) of snow fell on Friday night and early Saturday.
Reports said that most of the victims suffered hypothermia as temperatures fell due to snow while some died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Additional Chief Secretary Home Zafar Nasrullah is heading the committee and his being assisted by provincial government secretaries Ali Sarfraz and Asad Gillani, Additional Inspector General of Punjab Police Farooq Mazhar and another member.
The government has given the committee seven days to submit a report and pin responsibility on those who showed negligence.
Members of the committee will interview senior police and traffic officers and officials of the district administration, communication and works department, National Highway Authority, National Disaster Management Authority and Provincial Disaster Management Authority as part of the investigation. It will also review the record of phone calls made by tourists to the emergency police number ‘15’ and Rescue 1122 to assess their response, Arab News reported.
On Monday, opposition parties rejected the government’s probe committee, demanding for the formation of a judicial commission into the probe.
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