Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps on Monday completed the operation in Dir to clear the snow off the road, clearing the way for the traffic and rescuing several vehicles stuck on Rawalpindi-Chitral highway near Lowari Tunnel.
The troops also distributed food among those stranded in the snow. At least 250 people, including women and children, had been stranded in their vehicles in Dir since midnight on Sunday due to intense snowfall in the region. The passengers were travelling from Rawalpindi to Chitral.
The district administration had started the rescue operation at noon to clear off the roads. The army and FC troops soon arrived to assist the local administration, clearing the roads for traffic with the help of heavy machinery.
It is pertinent to note here that last month 23 tourists trapped in their vehicles during a snowstorm in Murree had lost their lives due to the negligence of the local authorities. Twenty out of 29 snow-removing machinery and snowmobiles had failed to respond promptly to the Murree incident, the preliminary findings of the probe had revealed.
