Stampede Kills 15 In Afghanistan, Many Reported Injured

JALALABAD: The stampede outside Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad city of Afghanistan killed at least 15 people on Wednesday.

The jostling leading to a stampede occurred when thousands of Afghan citizens had congregated near Pakistan’s consulate in the city to apply for visas.

Afghan officials told that 11 of 15 victims were women, and several senior citizens were injured after getting trampled by unruly visa-seekers.

They added that around 3,000 Afghans were present on the site which is usually used for sports or public gatherings and were waiting to collect tokens needed to apply for a visa.

The post-stampede images of the site later surfaced on media showed hundreds of passports strewn across the ground.

A survivor told Reuters how the fray to get ahead of other begun and led to a stampede.

“I stood in the queue all night but at some point people got angry and started pushing, many of us fell on the ground,” said Farmanullah.

Every year thousands of Afghans visit neighboring Pakistan for better job opportunities.