Stampede at Ramadan Food Distribution Center Kills 11 in Pakistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A stampede at a Ramadan food distribution center in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi has killed at least 11 people, all women and children, according to police and rescue officials.
Several people were also injured in Friday’s incident, which happened when hundreds of people panicked and started pushing each other to collect food outside a factory. Some of them fell into a nearby drain, police official Mughees Hashmi said.
Residents said a wall also collapsed near the drain, injuring and killing people amid the stampede.
Local media reported that eight women and three children died, Al Jazeera reported.
Hashmi said the factory owner who organized the food distribution center had not alerted police about the plan. He said local police were unaware of the distribution, otherwise they might have deployed forces.
The stampede is the deadliest at Ramadan food distribution points since the start of the Muslim holy month of fasting last week.
With the latest incident, the death toll from stampedes at free food centers across the country has risen to at least 21 since last week.
