ISLAMABAD: The committee formed to probe the Murree tragedy which saw the deaths of at least 22 tourists has completed its investigation and held district administration responsible for the catastrophe, said sources on Sunday.
The five-member committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary Home Zafar Nasarullah, has so far quizzed and collected records from different departments, including the district administration, police, NHA and Rescue 1122.
Sources privy to the development said that the preliminary findings of the probe revealed that snow-removing machinery and snowmobiles had failed to respond promptly to the Murree incident that claimed 22 lives. It was also found that snow-removing machinery ran out of fuel when it reached the incident site.
The report also pointed that the Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) did not issue any alert related to expected snowfall at the hill station.
NHA and Motorway Police also failed to respond swiftly to the tragedy while rescue teams started relief activities on the next day of the Murree incident, the investigation report finds.
Read more: MET office forecasts another snowfall in Murree
At least 22 tourists who were stranded in their vehicles due to heavy snowfall died of the extreme weather in Murree, earlier this month.
According to a report on the Murree tragedy presented to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar by the Rawalpindi administration, more than 100,000 vehicles entered Murree over the past three days. 12,000 of them exited the hill station while the rest got stuck.
