Stampede in Afghanistan Kills 15 People Waiting for Visas

At least 15 people died yesterday in Afghanistan in a stampede among thousands who gathered outside the Pakistani consulate to apply for visa", two officials in the eastern city of Jalalabad said.

Two provincial officials told Reuters a day after the tragic accident that an estimated 3,000 citizen had gathered in the open area outside the consulate, awaiting receipt of the cards needed for the visa application.

Sohrab Qadri, a member of the Regional Council, said that 11 of the victims were women and that several elderly people were injured too.

"The visa applicants flocked to get their cards from consulate officials ... and the crowd got out of control, which led to a stampede," a Jalalabad official said.

Thousands of Afghans travel every year to neighbouring Pakistan for treatment, education and work. The two countries share a border of about 2,600 kilometres.

Pakistan hosts nearly 3 million Afghan refugees and migrants who have fled violence, religious persecution and poverty in their war-torn country.

Pakistani embassy officials in Kabul did not have the chance yet to comment on what happened.