Two women were killed in a stampede involving thousands of people at the office issuing passports in central Mandalay on Monday morning.
The deceased were identified as Khin Myo Aye, 52, and Khine Wai, 39. Another 50-year-old woman, Htay Htay Win, suffered a broken leg when she was trampled by the rush of people queuing for passports.
“All three were sent to the hospital and two died on arrival,” an officer in a local social welfare group said.
The office, located in Aungmyay Thazan Township, only allows around 2,000 people to submit passport applications daily. However, nearly 5,000 people had queued overnight on Sunday, hoping to be among those allowed to the front of the line, creating a rush which led to the stampede when the office opened the following morning.
The military council changed the passport application system from a token-based. . .
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