ISLAMABAD: Authorities have sealed more than a dozen hotels in the resort town of Murree, local media reported on Wednesday, for overcharging tourists during a snowstorm last week.

Twenty-two tourists died trapped in their cars last Saturday after a storm clogged roads and stranded tourists overnight in freezing weather. 

Police said some of the victims froze to death in their cars, while others died from asphyxiation after inhaling exhaust fumes in snow-bound vehicles. 

Videos of tourists stranded in Murree during the snowstorm circulated on social media, with many saying hotels in the resort town had taken advantage of stranded people and overcharged them. 

One tourist who managed to leave Murree before the storm began said hotels that normally charged Rs4,000 for a night were demanding up to Rs20,000 for rooms that didn’t even have heaters. 

“The Assistant Commissioner of Murree has sealed hotels located on Kuldana Road, Upper Jhika Gali Road, Bank Road and Abu Dhabi Road after receiving complaints on social media of overcharging and other offenses,” the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi said on Twitter.

سوشل میڈیا پر ہوٹلز کے خلاف اورچرجنگ اور دیگر شکایات موصول ہونے پراسسٹنٹ کمشنر مری نے ابو ظبی روڈ،کلڈنہ روڈ ،اپر جھیکا گلی روڈ
بنک روڈ پر واقع ہوٹلز کو سیل کر دیا@GovtofPunjabPK @CS_Punjab @DgprPunjab @CommissionerRwp pic.twitter.com/z4woSFAQ0g

— Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi (@DCRawalpindi) January 11, 2022

Rawalpindi police also said they had arrested a man for swindling stranded tourists.

According to a tweet by Rawalpindi police, the suspect would deliberately shovel snow onto the roads so cars would get trapped.

“When vehicles would get stuck, he would ask for a significant amount of money in return for towing the car with the help of his jeep,” police said.

ملزم سڑک پربرف بکھیرتا اورجب کسی سیاح کی گاڑی پھنس جاتی تو جیپ سےٹو کرکےنکالنے کا بھاری معاوضہ لیتاتھا۔ ملزم کےدیگر ساتھیوں کوبھی گرفتار کیا جاۓگا۔ سیاحوں کا تحفظ اور سہولت اولین ترجیح ہے، سیاحوں کی مجبوری کا فائدہ اٹھانےوالے قانون کی گرفت سےنہیں بچیں گے، سی پی او ساجد کیانی 2/2 pic.twitter.com/gebcmhntaG

— Rawalpindi Police (@RwpPolice) January 11, 2022

On Tuesday, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain told reporters the government was introducing new tourist laws and would ‘revamp’ the district administration in Murree in light of the deaths of the snow-tourists.