The government on Tuesday declared a
state of emergency in Karachi, Pakistan's
largest southern city, after a heatwave
killed more than 700 people there and
left thousands fighting for their lives at
hospitals.
More than 700 people have died in the
port city since Friday, said Jam Mehtab
Dahar, health minister of southern
province of Sindh.
The hospitals were overflowing with
thousands of patients suffering heat
stroke and heat exhaustion who were
being driven in by long queues of
ambulances, Dahar said. Morgues were
also at capacity, he said.
Television footage showed victims lying
on the floor at hospitals and medics
running from one patient to another to
save their lives.
Doctors from army and civilian rescue
agencies have set up dozens of
temporary medical camps to treat people
with dehydration and heat stroke, the
military said.
The death toll was expected to rise
because about 10 000 people were being
treated at hospitals, said IjazAfzal, a
director at the provincial health
ministry.
The temperature in the city has been
hovering around 45°C for three days,
said GhulamRasool, director general of
the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Nearly all the deaths occurred because of
heat stroke and exhaustion, said
DrSeeminJamali at Karachi's Jinnah
Hospital, where most of the dead have
been taken.
About two dozen people died in other
parts of Sindh province, said Meraj
Ahmed , a rescue worker at the Edhi
Foundation, Pakistan's largest charity

may God restore peace in pakistan