Stampede at charity giveaway in Bangladesh leaves 23 dead

At least 23 people have been reported dead after a stampede that took place during a charity clothes giveaway in the northern city of Mymensingh in Bangladesh.

International media report that hundreds of desperately poor people rushed through a small gate into a factory compound before dawn to get the free garments causing the crush. Although the death toll is currently at 23, police said they expected it to rise further throughout the day. The Guardian also reports that those injured amount to four.

The practice of donating clothing to the poor during the month of Ramadan is a reportedly common practice according to the Guardian, but the handouts have sparked several deadly stampedes over the years.

It added that around 40 people were killed in a similar stampede at a garment factory in the northern city Tangail in 2002.

The police have detained seven people, including the owner of the factory following the tragic unfolding of events.  

Police told AFP news agency that 1,500 people had gathered outside the chewing tobacco factory at about 04:45 local time after the owners announced they would distribute free clothing and that the stampede erupted when people tried to force their way into the factory.

Television pictures showed scenes of devastation, with hundreds of blood-spattered sandals lying at the factory gate, which local media named as Nurani Jorda.

"Most of the dead are poor and emaciated women," Mymensingh police chief Moinul Haque told AFP.