Govt's criminal negligence responsible for Murree tragedy: CM Sindh

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday lambasted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for the Murree tragedy, saying the deaths of citizens was the result of administrative incompetence and criminal negligence of the ruling party.

While speaking to reporters in Karachi, CM Sindh said that the entire nation was saddened by the loss of lives in the Murree tragedy.

He also slammed federal ministers for blaming tourists for visiting Murree to witness snowfall.

“Some of the federal ministers are passing childish and non-serious statements, which should be stopped,” the chief minister said.

Murree tragedy: Probe points the finger at carbon monoxide, bureaucracy

The government has been under severe criticism over negligence and mismanagement that led to the deaths of 22 tourists in a frozen traffic jam in Murree on Friday.

An initial report by the inquiry committee into the Murree debacle has declared carbon monoxide (CO) as a major cause of the deaths.

The report has been submitted to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, it was learnt.

According to sources, the report revealed that some 22 deaths occurred in four to five vehicles. Deaths were caused mainly due to the accumulation of carbon monoxide due to heating in vehicles which resulted in suffocation.

More than 162,000 vehicles entered Murree from January 3 to January 7, according to the initial investigation document.

The roads leading to and from Murree were not repaired for two years, the report revealed. These roads had unpaved patches that accumulated heavy snow causing traffic blockade.

The road from Rawalpindi to Murree was blocked at 16 points due to fallen trees caused by heavy snowfall, sources quoted some major highlights of the report. The report also stated that some 21,000 vehicles were stopped from entering Murree and they were returned.

The report said that heavy snowfall continued for 16 hours on January 7 which resulted in four-foot snow.