Karachi stampede: Amid the collapsing economy, at least 13 people were killed while more than a dozen suffered grave injury after a stampede broke out during a free flour distribution programme in Pakistan's Karachi district on Friday.
According to a report by Pakistani English Daily, the incident happened when the family members of a private firm gathered to collect free flour on Friday. Notably, this is the second such incident within a week.
Citing the statement of the spokesperson for Keamari police, it said 11 people had died while five others had been injured.
The spokesperson said the injured had been shifted to the hospital while further investigation was underway, adding that most of the victims were women between 40 to 50 years of age.
Women and children fell into an open drain
As the stampede began, some women and children fell into an open drain, local police official Mughees Hashmi said. Residents said a wall also collapsed near the drain, injuring and killing people. The incident left the street that leads to the factory littered with wounded people and dead bodies.
Several people were also injured in the stampede. Hashmi said eight women and three children died.
A survivor, Baby Khursheed, 35, said she went to the factory to collect supplies with two of her elder sisters, Sabira Khatoon and Naseem Bano, who both died in the incident.
“There were hundreds of women in the street, the factory staff was allowing only a few of them at a time to collect rations,” she said. The street where people had gathered was narrow, she added.
Shortly after the incident, police detained some of the factory’s employees for questioning.
(With inputs from AP)
Also Read: Pakistan: At least 11 die during free 'flour' distribution in Punjab province
