KARACHI: The latest incident in which people lost their lives in search of free Ramzan food distribution occurred on Friday, when there was a rush inside the grounds of a factory at the Naurus crossroads in Karachi’s SITE district, resulting in at least 11 deaths and multiple injuries.
People were gathering outside a dyeing factory in the city’s industrial sector to collect rations as part of charity drives Karachiites organise every Ramadan to aid the destitute when the incident took place.
According to rescue sources, the catastrophe claimed the lives of eight women and three children.
Also, six people passed out during the stampede, rescuers informed. Police officers said that a sizable crowd had gathered at the location while the ration was being handed.
According to rescue reports, many victims died after falling into a nullah at the site. Also, witnesses reported to the media that people were called for the distribution of Zakat.
According to Edhi sources, there were nine bodies sent to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and two were transported to the Civil Hospital.
According to Edhi sources, all of the deceased who were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital were women, three of whom were younger girls, according to Faisal Edhi. Additionally, According to the authorities, 15 injured people were sent to both hospitals.
Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori, who has taken note of the occurrence, has asked Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon for a report. The governor also expressed sorrow at the incident’s loss of valuable life.
Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, also saw the stamp and requested a report from the commissioner. CM Murad stated, “Government should properly report regarding ration distribution and welfare initiatives.”
Police make seven arrests
Superintendent of Police (SP) Muhammad Mughees Hashmi confirmed that the occurrence resulted from a rush, and he also mentioned that the local police station had not been informed beforehand about the distribution, according to journalists’ reports.
Seven persons have reportedly been detained thus far, according to the SP, and an investigation has been opened.
He disclosed that during the stampede a water pipe also burst, which exacerbated the situation, out of fear that the death toll would rise.
No trace of electrocution was discovered at the scene, according to SSP Kemari, and all those who perished were killed as a result of the rush.
The police official further verified that there had never been a wall of a nullah collapse. More than 400 people were present at the scene when the stampede occurred, he continued.
The incident claimed the lives of at least five people, and it is one of the many stampedes that have occurred in recent weeks across Pakistan. As the nation’s economic crisis worsened, the government-backed program distributed edibles, particularly wheat flour, at various locations where several incidents occurred.
The government set such centres all around the nation in an effort to lessen the effects of inflation, which reached a 50-year high of nearly 30% and attracted thousands of individuals.
Basic items are now considerably more expensive; for example, the price of flour has increased by nearly 45% in the last year.
The Pakistani government has started a project to distribute wheat to millions of people in need during the just started holy Islamic month of Ramadan.