A stampede at a SITE factory in Karachi, Pakistan, has left families and loved ones of the deceased mourning their loss. The tragedy occurred when many people, affected by inflation, gathered at the factory to collect zakat and food. The mortuary at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in Karachi was filled with the bodies of those killed in the stampede, with relatives struggling to carry the corpses of their loved ones, visibly overwhelmed with grief.
The younger son of Hafiza Begum, who lived in Orangi Town, was inconsolable, and her elder son Muhammad Yousuf said that they had no idea why their mother had gone to the factory. They had only received a call that she had been killed, and they did not believe she was hurt by the baton charge that had also taken place inside the factory.
Naseem Bibi, who had come from Multan to meet her brother in Karachi, was also killed in the mayhem. Her brother blamed the owner of the company distributing handouts for the incident, saying that it was not charity but a show-off.
Asma Ahmed, 30, told AFP that her grandmother and niece were among the dead. She said that they went to the factory for zakat every year, but this time, the women were beaten with clubs and pushed, causing chaos everywhere. She questioned why they were called if they could not manage the distribution of charity.
Following the tragedy, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced Rs500,000 compensation for the legal heirs of each deceased and Rs100,000 for each injured person. The CM directed the chief secretary to gather information about the deceased and injured persons immediately for compensation distribution.
Meanwhile, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon appealed to philanthropists and non-government organizations to inform the district administration and police while arranging such activities to provide adequate security. Memon also noted that the factory management did not inform the police or district administration about the distribution of charity, potentially contributing to the tragic outcome.
