DHAKA: 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, BBC Urdu reported. Another 30 deaths were reported elsewhere in the province, state owned PTV said.

The Edhi Welfare Organisation told the media that their mortuaries had received hundreds of corpses and were now full.

Officials have been criticized 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 centers.

There is anger among local residents at the authorities because power cuts have restricted the use of air-conditioning units and fans, correspondents say.

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 Sharif to take immediate action to tackle the crisis.

BDST: 1341 HRS, JUN 24, 2015
RR