At least seven people have died and another 100 were sickened after apparently drinking contaminated water in a poor neighborhood in southern Karachi, officials said on Sunday.
Doctors said the victims had severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and dehydration. The deaths occurred over the last five days. "We suspect they died by consuming contaminated water," said Dr. Pervez Aslam, a health official in Landhi, a congested, impoverished neighborhood in Karachi.
Another 100 people living in Landhi were hospitalized with similar symptoms, said Dr. Mizanuddin Memon of a nearby hospital. Investigators were looking at water pipes in the area to determine whether they may have been contaminated by nearby sewer lines, Aslam said.
Poor residents of the area apparently drilled holes in the water pipes for illegal hookups to the main water system. Sewer and water lines often run parallel to each other, and there may have been seepage from leaking sewer lines.
Residents have been asked not to drink tap water, and water is being trucked into the area until the problem is identified and solved, Aslam said.