KARACHI, 10 April 2006 — At least 30 women and children were trampled or suffocated to death yesterday in a stampede at a religious gathering in Karachi, police and doctors said. Scores were injured.
The stampede occurred after a religious congregation near old Sabzi Mandi (fruit market) in Karachi.
The gathering at Faizan-e-Madinah mosque was held to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which falls on Tuesday
City police chief Niaz Siddiqui said some 50,000 women and children had gathered for the ceremony. The stampede was triggered when a girl fell while the women were leaving the mosque, he said.
But Hanees Billu, a spokesman for the center run by Islamic missionary group Dawat-e-Islami, said the stampede may have been caused by people rushing to get on buses to take them to a rally.
Witnesses said the child cried out, sparking panic among the women who tried to force their way out of the mosque.
“All of a sudden there had been screams and shouts. Everyone ran for safety and we too,” Haleema Bibi, one of the participants told Reuters. “We were just shouting. We did not know what had happened.”
“Women fell on each other as panic spread. It was an absolute mayhem. Nobody knew what happened,” another woman said.
Twenty-two bodies were placed in Liaquat National Hospital while eight more bodies were brought to another hospital in the city. Police said around 100 people were injured. Asif Ejaz Sheikh, district police officer, said there was no indication the incident was a terrorist act.
“Initially, it was said that a phone call was received by the mosque organizers that a bomb was planted in the mosque. But we have checked and there was no phone call. It was just a rumor,” he said.
Thousands of pairs of shoes were seen littered outside the mosque. Relatives wailed and beat their chests as ambulances ferried dead and injured people to hospitals.
“My mother has died. My mother has died,” a boy named Nasir shouted and fainted as he identified his 55-year-old mother, Rabia Bibi, among dead at the Liaquat National Hospital.
Hospital staff made announcements through megaphones, urging people to donate blood. Most of the deaths were caused by internal injuries and suffocation, said Dr. Simi Jamali of the state-run Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Center, which received seven bodies and more than 30 injured people. “Many of the victims are women and children,” Simi said.
