At least 53 people, attending an annual festival of a sufi saint, have died due to a heat wave in Pakistan's southern Sindh province.
The devotees had come to take part in the 'Urs' or birthday celebration of famous saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan.
Fifty Three people died over a period of three days during the festival after reeling under extreme hot weather conditions, the Express Tribune reported.
The local administration had claimed that they would provide the pilgrims with cold water and make other necessary arrangements for them, which was not done, the report said.
Hundreds of thousands of people, mainly from the Punjab and Sindh province, visit the small town of Sehwan during the 'Urs' celebrations of the saint.
This year, the 762nd Urs, attracted between 500,000 to 600,000 visitors, according to unofficial estimates.
At least 12 people died yesterday, according to medical superintendent of Sehwan taluka hospital Dr Moinuddin Siddiqi, who said that all of the victims, except one, had died due to heat stroke.
The mercury had peaked at 46 degrees centigrade yesterday.
The Met office has forecast that temperatures will remain high for the next few days.
