207 heatwave deaths in Karachi

At least 207 people have died over the weekend in Pakistan's port-city of Karachi following a heatwave that has gripped Sindh province during the last three days, media reported on Monday.

Seven people lost their lives on Monday, Dawn quoted Imran Samdani, medical superintendent of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital as saying. The deaths were said to have occurred due to heat and gastro-related problems.

Earlier, it was reported that 30 people died in the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, Seemin Jamali, head of the emergency department at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, said 50 people have died since late Sunday. Earlier, 85 people were said to have succumbed at the hospital since late Saturday.

Six more deaths were reported at the Civil Hospital Karachi on Saturday, taking the death toll at the hospital to 35, said an official.

Saturday was the hottest day this year in Karachi, with the mercury shooting up to 45 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature of 48 degrees Celsius was recorded in three districts of Sindh -- Jacobabad, Larkana and Sukkur -- on Saturday, which slipped to 41 on Sunday.

The southern Pakistani province of Sindh has been experiencing extra-ordinarily high temperatures this summer. Earlier this month, 17 people succumbed to heatstroke in Sehwan during the Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.