ISLAMABAD – The provisional toll of the snowstorms and frost that hit various parts of Pakistan in recent days rises to at least 44 dead and at least 41 injured, according to the latest official bulletin.
Among the victims, at least 22, including 10 children, were frozen to death in their cars, blocked on the street by the snow, which congested the town of Murree, in Punjab.
In Punjab itself, 7 other people died from the collapse of a roof, under the weight of the snow. Another 12 people lost their lives and 29 were injured in the northwestern district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the border with Afghanistan, as a result of snow but also rain. Finally, two children died from a collapsed roof in Baluchistan.
But the toll of the storms also includes the deaths of animals, the destruction or damage of many homes, serious damage to roads and other infrastructures, and blocking of traffic.
However, the Pakistani Meteorological Department expects an improvement for the next 72 hours at least.
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