The death toll due to the punishing heatwave continues to soar in the metropolis as it has claimed as many as 800 lives so far, health and rescue officials said. Attributing the unprecedented casualties to deadly heatwaves, Provincial Health Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar pointed a finger at the K-Electric for prolonged and unscheduled power outages in this metropolis, which aggravated the situation.
"Some 800 people have so far lost their lives due to heat-stroke caused by rising mercury in the city," official sources told Business Recorder. According to the official sources in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), over 4000 patients of heat-stroke were brought to the facility, of them 285 died. Head of Emergency Department JPMC Dr Seemin Jamali said that over 3,500 heat-stroke patients were treated in the hospital during last three days.
"Some 112 people died in Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) run hospitals including Abbasi Shaheed Hospital," said Dr Salma Kaousar, Senior Director Medical and Health Services KMC. She said some 700 patients are still under treatment in different hospitals of KMC including 300 in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Anjum Rizvi, an official at the private Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), confirmed that 37 heat-stroke patients died at the facility while 26 people were brought dead. "The accumulated figure of deaths is 63," she added. Ghulam Rasool Sarag, spokesman for Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), also confirmed 20 deaths due to heat-stroke at the hospital, adding that scores of patients are still in critical condition. At Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) 98 patients died while hundreds others are under treatment. Forty one deaths were reported at Indus Hospital while 35 at Ziauddin Hospital.
Similarly, 41 in National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, 32 in Qatar Hospital Orangi, 17 in Lyari General Hospital, two in KPT Hospital, 15 in Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi, while rest of the deaths were reported from other hospitals of Sindh government or KMC across the city during the last three days. Meanwhile, an Edhi Morgue volunteer said that there was no space left to accommodate more bodies in the mortuary.
Over 100 people have died at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre during last 24 hours, 50 at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, while 59 deaths were reported from Sindh's Civil Hospital Karachi. Acceding to an official at NICH, four deaths were reported due to heat-stroke in the facility during last 24 hours. At Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre its employee Jamil Ahmed died of heat-stroke, while dozens others fell unconscious by performing their duties. The affected employees are under treatment at the hospital. Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Health Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar said that emergency had been declared in all government hospitals to save people being affected by heat-stroke.
"All kinds of medicines had been provided at the facilities, while medical staff is available round the clock," he said while talking to media persons during his visit to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. He expressed deep sorrow over the deaths due to heat-stroke. He said that severe heat wave was the cause of the deaths but unscheduled and long hours load shedding aggravated the situation. Dahar said Sindh government was fully aware of its responsibilities and all medical facilities had been supplied medicines in order to save people from heat-stroke. He advised the people to avoid unnecessary movement in scorching heat, stay at homes and take precautionary measures to save themselves from burning heat.
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