A fire at a wedding party triggered a stampede and collapse of a wall in central Pakistan, killing the bride and 26 other women and children, police said this morning.
The marriage party was underway in a tent near the city of Dera Ghazi Khan last night when it caught fire. An electrical short-circuit is thought to have caused the blaze.
Several women and children died of burns. Many of those fleeing scaled a nearby wall, causing it to collapse.
"Twenty women and seven children have been killed. The unfortunate bride is also among them," Nazar Abbas, a deputy superintendent of police, said. Deputy Supt Abbas said up to 300 women and children were gathered in the tent and were singing wedding songs when the incident happened.
He said scores of people were injured.