At least 23 people were killed in a stampede during a handout of free clothes in the northern Bangladeshi city of Mymensingh, police said. The stampede erupted on Friday when hundreds of people tried to force their way into a factory compound through a small gate after massing outside the building before dawn, local police chiefs told AFP. “We have so far recovered 23 bodies. Most of the dead are poor and emaciated women,” Mymensingh police chief Moinul Haque said, putting the number of injured at more than 50. He also said the death toll could rise adding that the owner of the factory and six others have been arrested. Police said up to 1,500 people had massed outside the chewing tobacco factory at around 4:45am after the plant owners announced they would distribute free clothes to poor people.
