Over 1,000 cars remain trapped on Zhambyl region’s highways
The drivers of Zhambyl region are urged to stay home for bad weather conditions. Hundreds of cars remain on the highways of the region and on mountain passes. Many of them got stuck in snowdrift amid severe frosts and gusting wind sometimes exceeding 30 meters per second, Kazinform News Agency reports.
As the local police department informs, separate road sections were shut down due to blizzard, black ice and poor visibility.
Road sections of Western Europe – Western China highway (from the 163rd to the 230th kilometer) near the Kordai pass and on the 125th kilometer of Merke-Shu-Burylbaital highway towards Astana were shut down. Traffic restrictions were imposed on the border with Turkistan region, near Shakpak-Ata village on the Kuyul mountain pass, in Zhualy district.
The roads will remain closed for your own safety, until weather conditions are improved, chief of the regional police department, major-general Armanbek Baimurzin says.
According to him, more than 1,000 cars got trapped on snow-covered highways. Over 750 police officers are working day and night rescuing the drivers and passengers.
To prevent emergency situations and ensure people’s safety, he urged everyone to wait until the weather improves and postpone their travel.
As reported, heavy snowfall, frosts and icy road conditions caused a congestion of more than 200 cargo vehicles on the road sections of Western Europe-Western China highway, and on some local roads.
The region’s authorities were forced to declare state of emergency.
