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Pakistan heatwave: Death toll over 800 in Sindh

Wednesday, 24 June 2015


The death toll from a heatwave in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has passed 800, hospital officials say, as mortuaries reached capacity. At least 780 people had died in Karachi. Another 30 deaths were reported elsewhere in the province. The Edhi Welfare Organisation said that their mortuaries had received hundreds of corpses and were now full. Officials have been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the crisis. On Tuesday as temperatures reached 45C (113F), Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif called for emergency measures and the army was deploying to help set up heat stroke centres. There is anger among local residents at the authorities because power cuts have restricted the use of air-conditioning units and fans. Matters have been made worse by the widespread abstention from water during daylight hours during the fasting month of Ramadan. On Tuesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it had received orders from Mr Sharif to take immediate action to tackle the crisis, according to BBC.