Women, children killed in Pakistan stampede

At least 11 women and children were killed in a deadly stampede at a Ramadan food and cash distribution centre in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Friday, police and rescue officials said, as the country struggles with surging food prices.

The stampede happened when hundreds of women and children panicked and started pushing each other to collect food outside a factory in a well-known industrial area.

Business owners during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor.

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.

Several people were also injured in the stampede. Hashmi said eight women and three children died.

Murad Ali Shah, the top elected official in the Sindh, has ordered an investigation into the deadly stampede that resulted.

He also asked charities and business owners to inform police before organizing such Ramadan handouts.

Business owners during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan often hand out cash and food