AGL 38.15 Increased By ▲ 0.90 (2.42%)
AIRLINK 121.51 Decreased By ▼ -2.51 (-2.02%)
BOP 5.85 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (4.09%)
CNERGY 3.75 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.81%)
DCL 8.40 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.82%)
DFML 40.89 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (1.54%)
DGKC 84.60 Decreased By ▼ -1.14 (-1.33%)
FCCL 32.70 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.31%)
FFBL 65.50 Decreased By ▼ -1.00 (-1.5%)
FFL 10.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.08%)
HUBC 103.80 Increased By ▲ 0.70 (0.68%)
HUMNL 13.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.12%)
KEL 4.43 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (4.24%)
KOSM 7.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.25%)
MLCF 37.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.80 (-2.09%)
NBP 60.25 Decreased By ▼ -4.76 (-7.32%)
OGDC 172.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.55 (-0.89%)
PAEL 24.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.4%)
PIBTL 5.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.72%)
PPL 141.69 Decreased By ▼ -1.01 (-0.71%)
PRL 22.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-1.13%)
PTC 14.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.37 (-2.45%)
SEARL 64.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.79 (-1.21%)
TELE 7.14 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2%)
TOMCL 35.50 Decreased By ▼ -1.41 (-3.82%)
TPLP 7.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.68%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.56%)
TRG 51.75 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (4.12%)
UNITY 26.60 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (1.72%)
WTL 1.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.61%)
BR100 9,483 Decreased By -118.3 (-1.23%)
BR30 28,371 Decreased By -202.1 (-0.71%)
KSE100 88,967 Decreased By -1319.8 (-1.46%)
KSE30 27,827 Decreased By -515.9 (-1.82%)

Edhi volunteers on Friday held a mass funeral for 50 victims of Karachi's worst heatwave in decades, whose bodies had gone unclaimed. More than 1,000 people have died as a result of days of scorching temperatures, with the sprawling metropolis Karachi the worst-affected city. After peaking at around 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) last weekend, the heat has subsided to the mid-30s and the city's customary cooling sea breeze has started up, bringing relief to its 20 million inhabitants.
At times this week the city's morgues struggled to cope with the influx of the dead, many of whom were elderly, destitute or drug addicts. The Edhi Foundation, a welfare group based in Karachi, on Friday buried 50 bodies that no relatives had come forward to claim. Abdul Sattar Edhi, the organisation's much-loved founder, was joined by dozens of volunteers and passers-by in offering prayers for the dead as they were buried in white cotton shrouds.
"In my whole life I have not seen such a large number of deaths due to heat-stroke," Edhi, who is around 90 years of age, told AFP. "It is a natural calamity." Mohammad Amaullah, an Edhi official, said most of the 50 were heroin addicts. Karachi. An ambulance driver who has been transporting bodies for the Edhi Foundation said drug addicts were the worst-affected victims of the heatwave.
"I picked up bodies from beneath the Rexer Bridge, where heroin addicts frequently hang out," diver Irfan Ahmed, the driver said. Karachi hospitals have treated nearly 80,000 people for the effects of heat-stroke and dehydration during the week, according to medical officials. Power cuts have contributed to the suffering, preventing fans and air-conditioners working and hampering water pumps.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issued a statement blaming K-Electric, the city's power company, for the crisis and threatening revenge. Many of those who died were outdoor manual labourers, who are paid by the day and may be reluctant to stop work as it would mean losing income. Under Pakistani law, it is illegal for Muslims to eat or drink in public during daylight hours in Ramadan, though the crisis prompted some clerics to advise people they should stop fasting if their health is at risk.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015

Comments

Comments are closed.