PAKISTAN-HEAT WAVE/MEDICAL CENTRES DELIVERY Pakistan sets up medical aid camps as heat kills 400

Record ID: 151949

  • Title: PAKISTAN-HEAT WAVE/MEDICAL CENTRES DELIVERY Pakistan sets up medical aid camps as heat kills 400
  • Date: 23rd June 2015
  • Summary: KARACHI, PAKISTAN (JUNE 23, 2015) (REUTERS) AMBULANCES PARKED OUTSIDE JINNAH POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL CENTRE AMBULANCE ARRIVING HEATSTROKE PATIENT BEING TAKEN OUT OF AMBULANCE GURNEY BEING BROUGHT TO AMBULANCE PATIENT BEING MOVED ONTO GURNEY HEATSTROKE PATIENT BEING CARRIED INTO HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF PATIENTS ON GURNEYS BEING TAKEN INTO HOSPITAL (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu/English) SPOKES
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8KIYLZB377G3W21D2R7SII4B0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As the death toll of a severe heat wave in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi exceeded 400, Pakistan's army and the paramilitary Rangers force on Tuesday (June 23) set up emergency medical camps inside hospital compounds and in the streets of the city.
    The heat wave coincided with major power cuts, leading to harsh criticism of the provincial government and K-electric, the company that supplies electricity to Karachi, the richest city in Pakistan and home to 20 million people.
    Temperatures have touched 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in the steamy port city in recent days, up from a normal summer temperature of 37 C (99 F), but rain is expected soon.
    A morgue run by the charity Edhi Foundation had received more than 400 people who died due to complications from the heat in the past three days, official Anwar Kazmi told Reuters.
    A full tally of deaths in the province was not available.
    Dr Seemin Jamali, a spokesperson for the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, one of Karachi's biggest public hospitals, told Reuters TV that in the past two days 255 people have died in her hospital alone.
    The hospital was flooded with hundreds of patients suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion, with more than 700 victims arriving since Tuesday morning.
    "The mortality of heat stroke patients is very high throughout the world. Likewise, the mortality rate here is also very high. Karachi has never seen this type of weather. This is a very difficult situation. People get fever, followed by headaches and fits and then they fall unconscious. Victims are being brought here with such symptoms. A large number of them are people who are diabetic, who have heart disease and those who are elderly," Jamali said.
    According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani army set up the heatstroke camps after hundreds started dying of heat-related causes in Karachi.
    The army and paramilitary Rangers camps, which were providing free medical assistance to heatstroke patients, have been set up at several points in the city where they are providing water and anti-dehydration salts to the masses.
    "This morning a camp of the Pakistan army has been organised here, which is working under us. Patients are being treated there also. Rangers have set up a camp in Aisha Bhawanay School where heat victims are being treated. A very large number of heat exhaustion and heat syndrome patients are being brought here," said Jamali.
    "There are a lot of other organisations and hospitals we could go to, but it is a matter of trust. When we heard the name of the Pakistan army, we left everything else and rushed here, because we were sure that the treatment and the care we would get here would be better than anywhere else," said Karachi resident Abdul Hameed, who brought his dehydrated brother to the army centre.
    The paramilitary Rangers have also established ten heatstroke centers across the city, where doctors, paramedics and medicines have been rushed to provide relief to citizens suffering from the extremely hot weather.
    The provincial government has been increasingly criticised by opposition parties for not managing the crisis, which has been exacerbated by severe power cuts.
    One lawmaker suggested that the parliament should turn off its air-conditioning for an hour to show solidarity with the people.
    The electricity grid has been overwhelmed as people switch on fans and air conditioners and as families all begin to cook at the same time.
    The holy month of Ramadan, when most Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours, began on Friday (June 19).
    It is tradition for families to break their fast together at dusk.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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