ISLAMABAD: At least 12 tourists have been rescued by the authorities in the Neelum Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir who were trapped in heavy snowfall.
They belonged to the University of Punjab were visiting Kel village of Neelam Valley when they were stranded due to heavy snowfall.
However, the rescue officials managed to reach the snow-blanketed spot and evacuated the students successfully. All tourists have been moved to the guest house safely.
Some roads were reopened after they were cleared of snow but others remained closed, either because of icy conditions or ongoing clearance work.
Earlier, a group of around 230 tourists found themselves stranded in heavy snow at the Pir Chinasi tourist resort in Muzaffarabad.
The tourists who had been visiting the popular high-altitude resort were unable to leave due to the severe weather conditions. Authorities sprang into action, launching a rescue mission to safely evacuate the tourists from the resort.
According to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the present weather spell is likely to continue for a couple of days over the upper parts of the country.
The Met Office has forecast more snowfall over KP, Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next couple of days while rain-thunderstorm is expected at scattered places in Islamabad, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, divisions) upper KP (Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, divisions), Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during next two days. More snowfall is also expected over the hills of Malakand, Hazara divisions, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during the period.
